SEATTLE: WHAT A F*CKING RODEO
⚠️ FAIR WARNING: FOUL LANGUAGE AHEAD.
And every single f*cking word of it is deserved.
If you're offended by profanity, this probably isn't the post for you.
I tried to find more polite words to describe what we're watching happen in Seattle, but there really aren't that many ways to adequately describe this level of shitshow.
Sometimes “unfortunate,” “concerning,” “problematic” and “challenging” just don't f*cking cut it.
So consider yourself warned.
There will be profanity.
There will be opinions.
And there will be absolutely no attempt to polish a turd.
I was hired by the Seattle Police Department in 1998.
In 1999, as a brand-new cop, I slipped and fell in my first pile of human shit at 103rd and Aurora.
YES. HUMAN SHIT.
Back then, it was a story.
Twenty-seven years later?
Apparently it's just f*cking Tuesday.
Tents. Human waste. Open-air drug use. People absolutely consumed by addiction in plain sight. Violence. Businesses and residents dealing with the fallout.
Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in America. Mountains. Water. Skyline. Puget Sound.
Enjoy the view. Just watch where you step.
The problems aren't hiding anymore.
THEY'RE FLASHING, WAVING AND LAUGHING AT YOU.
And why wouldn't they?
When people repeatedly push boundaries without meaningful consequences, they learn exactly where those boundaries really are.
Seattle doesn't need another study to figure that out.
IT NEEDS COMPETENT LEADERSHIP.
CALL SHIT WHAT IT IS
I said this before I retired.
When you're dealing with gang activity, stop calling them “groups of youths.”
THEY'RE GANGS.
Someone intentionally firing a gun at another human being isn't a “trigger puller.”
THAT'S A SHOOTER.
Stop sanitizing reality until nobody has to feel uncomfortable.
You can't fix something you're afraid to accurately describe.
And then came the Bite of Seattle shooting.
Three people killed. Others wounded. A toddler injured.
The cops on the ground responded.
Then came the leadership response.
HOLY SHIT. WHAT A F*CKING RODEO.
The Mayor's Office initially released incorrect information saying two suspects were in custody.
There was one.
The public then waited hours for a substantive briefing.
Then-Chief Shon Barnes—who wasn't even in Seattle—texted:
“I don't know who is in charge but someone needs to assume command.”
Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis responded that he was in charge.
Okay.
THEN BE IN CHARGE.
Seattle doesn't need a “nice guy” running a major scene.
It needs a LEADER.
Davis later told City Council he was prepared to brief the media hours earlier. Released communications showed a mayoral staffer telling SPD:
“Mayor's on her way. Please wait for her.”
Are you f*cking kidding me?
People are dead.
A toddler has been shot.
Families are scared.
The public needs information.
UPDATE THEM.
What are they going to do—fire the incident commander for giving the public necessary safety information before the mayor arrives?
And an update doesn't require some earth-shattering development.
“WE'RE STILL CLEARING. STAY PUT.”
That's an update.
“AVOID THE AREA. WE'LL UPDATE YOU WHEN WE KNOW MORE.”
That's an update.
During a major incident, leadership isn't waiting around until everyone is comfortable with your decision.
COMMAND IS IN COMMAND TO MAKE COMMAND DECISIONS.
THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED COMMAND.
Make the f*cking decision.
Then OWN IT.
Instead, afterward we watched the scramble over who delayed whom, who knew what and who was responsible.
From the outside looking in?
IT'S F*CKING EMBARRASSING.
AND THEN — $13.1 MILLION.
Because apparently the rodeo needed another act.
More than 900 SPD employees were overpaid approximately $13.1 MILLION after the City says incorrect base rates were used to calculate retroactive wages.
Now the City wants the money back.
Fine.
But first:
SHOW. YOUR. F*CKING. WORK.
Because at this point I wouldn't trust the City to split the check at Chili's.
And this is where I lose patience with the endless government cycle.
Another consultant.
Another committee.
Another strategic plan.
Another after-action report.
Another carefully worded explanation.
ENOUGH.
The problems are so glaringly obvious that paying someone else to identify them borders on parody.
Open-air drug use isn't hiding.
Tents aren't hiding.
Human waste isn't hiding.
The deterioration of LARGE parts of downtown aren’t hiding.
Command confusion during a mass shooting certainly wasn't hiding. It was wearing a flashing neon sign.
And neither is a $13.1 million payroll error.
You don't need another PowerPoint.
YOU NEED PEOPLE CAPABLE OF FIXING SHIT.
Doing variations of the same thing over and over and expecting a different result isn't innovation.
IT'S INSANITY WITH A CONSULTING CONTRACT.
And no, I'm not saying any of this is intentional.
But Jesus Christ.
When dysfunction becomes this consistent, it's hard not to look at the whole mess and wonder:
HOW COULD SOMEONE TRYING TO SCREW IT UP DO MUCH BETTER?
AND THAT'S HOW BAD THIS HAS GOTTEN.
I've been contacted TWICE THIS WEEK BY NATIONAL MEDIA.
I'm retired.
I've been gone from SPD for three years.
Yet national media is reaching out to a retired Seattle Police lieutenant for perspective on what's happening in Seattle.
That's where we are.
I won't pretend to know exactly why they're calling unless they tell me.
But I know what I can give them:
I DON'T HAVE TO PLAY THE GAME ANYMORE.
I don't need a promotion.
I don't need another assignment.
I don't need City Hall's approval.
I don't need command staff's approval.
And I don't have to figure out the politically acceptable way to describe something that's obviously f*cked up.
I CAN CALL IT WHAT I SEE.
And what I see is a city I spent more than two decades serving stumbling from one completely avoidable mess into another while everyone scrambles to make sure the accountability lands somewhere else.
Seattle doesn't need another person worried about being liked.
It needs LEADERS.
People willing to make uncomfortable decisions.
People willing to say NO.
People willing to put public safety ahead of politics and optics.
And people willing to stand there afterward and say:
“I MADE THAT DECISION.”
If you're sitting in the chair...
If you're collecting the paycheck...
If you wanted the title...
YOU'RE IN CHARGE.
So LEAD.
And if you can't make the hard decisions, can't produce results and can't take responsibility when shit goes sideways?
Stop pointing fingers.
Stop protecting your title.
Stop explaining.
STEP ASIDE.
Because at some point, “we're working on it” stops being reassuring.
WE CAN SEE THE RESULTS.
And Seattle?
