(The Center Square) - A Seattle Police Department assistant chief and a department captain are among the candidates interested in becoming the city’s next police chief, with both have participated in the community outreach process.
Members of the public had been invited by Mayor Katie Wilson over the last week to attend community forums to voice what they wanted in their next police chief.
But among the hundreds of attendees at the three forums were also candidates for the top job that became vacant after Wilson asked former Police Chief Shon Barnes to resign in late July.
Seattle Police Assistant Chief Robert Brown came to the last forum Wednesday night in uniform, sitting at a table with community members discussing the chief’s selection.
Afterward, he confirmed to The Center Square that he was a candidate for the job.
Brown, one of several assistant chiefs in the department and head of the police department’s patrol division, said he would bring a number of qualifications to the job.
“Stability, experience, respect, insight of the department, as well as strong connections in the community,” he told The Center Square.
Brown, who brings 30 years of experience to the job, said he enjoyed hearing community members' thoughts on what they wanted in a new chief.
Speaking at tables, community members talked Wednesday, as they did at other forums, about how they wanted the new chief to be familiar with Seattle, rein in open-air drug markets and street crime and also hold officers found guilty of wrongdoing held accountable.
“It was very good, very helpful to hear the thoughts of the community members in what they are looking for in their next police chief,” Brown said.
Brown said he didn’t want to detail what he would do as police chief; he said he came to the event to listen, not to further his own candidacy for police chief.
Seattle Police Captain Dan Nelson sat at another table Wednesday night in street clothes.
He has attended all three community forums. Nelson told The Center Square he has also applied for the police chief’s position.
Nelson, who coordinated the police department’s security efforts at the FIFA World Cup in Seattle, said the current police department structure is too top-heavy and is controlled by central headquarters.
Nelson said the commanders of the city’s five police precincts know their neighborhoods' problems and need more officers to respond.
“We need to do a better job in pushing resources to the precinct captains, so they have the flexible resources necessary to be responsive to the community,” he said.
In June, the City of Seattle settled a lawsuit involving Nelson, who had served as an assistant chief during the administration of former Police Chief Adrian Diaz back in 2024.
The city paid $2.6 million to settle the 2024 suit brought by four female police officers who accused Seattle Police Department leaders, including Diaz and Nelson, of sexual harassment.
The two had denied the charges, and the city admitted no guilt in its settlement.
It remains unknown whether Interim Chief Andre Sayles will apply for the job.
Alison Holcomb, the mayor’s public safety director, said she expects he will, but offered no confirmation.
Wilson named Sayles interim chief after Barnes agreed to resign.
A police department spokesman offered a brief statement denying any knowledge of whether Sayles had applied for the job.
“We are not tracking the applicants for Chief of Police. That question is better suited for the Mayor's Office as they are leading the search," said a department spokesperson.
He did not respond to requests for The Center Square to interview Sayles.
Holcomb said community input will be taken seriously in selecting the next chief.
While state law prohibits the city from a residency requirement for employees, Holcomb said the mayor wants a chief who lives in Seattle and is familiar with the area.
She said of 23 candidates, eight have worked for the department, past or present, or have had law enforcement experience in Seattle.
Nelson said he lives in Renton, but with his daughter graduating from high school this year, he is ready to move to the city.
Brown said he lives east of the city and didn’t say if he was willing to move back.
Holcomb had said the city expects to pick a new chief by the end of the year.
