THREE PEOPLE ARE DEAD. PULL THE FUCKING RECORDS.

LANGUAGE WARNING: This contains profanity. Three people are dead, a two-year-old was shot, and after watching yesterday's Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee meeting, I'm fresh out of polite.

I watched the meeting about the July 26 Bite of Seattle shooting hoping somebody would finally cut through the bullshit.

Instead, I watched Seattle turn what should be a straightforward reconstruction of a critical incident into another bureaucratic maze.

Reviews. Investigations. Processes. Careful answers. Careful words.

Meanwhile, the fundamental questions remain:

Who was in charge?

What did they know?

When did they know it?

Why did people shelter in place for hours without meaningful updates?

Why did it take approximately five hours to hold a press conference?

Why are we only now talking publicly about another person investigators are trying to identify?

And why, after three people were killed and a two-year-old was shot, does everybody seem more terrified of saying the words “gang” and “Black male” than they are of admitting that public-safety communication completely shit the bed?

This isn't complicated.

Pull the records.

Build the timeline.

Let's fucking go.

FIRST, A LITTLE ICS FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T SPEAK COP.

ICS stands for Incident Command System.

Strip away all the government acronyms and fancy charts and it's actually pretty simple:

When a major incident happens, one person is put in charge.

That's the Incident Commander.

But—and this is important—the Incident Commander isn't supposed to personally do every fucking thing.

The system is specifically designed to delegate responsibilities.

Operations handles the actual operational response.

Other personnel handle planning, logistics, safety, coordination and whatever else the incident requires.

And somebody handles public information.

That's the Public Information Officer, or PIO.

Why?

Because while SWAT is clearing buildings, patrol officers are locking down areas, detectives are interviewing witnesses and commanders are directing resources, somebody still needs to tell the public what the fuck is happening.

That's not an inconvenience.

That's not PR.

That's part of managing the incident.

Everybody has a lane.

Everybody has a responsibility.

Information flows up.

Decisions flow down.

Responsibilities are delegated.

The entire fucking system exists so one overwhelmed person isn't standing in the middle of a catastrophe trying to do seventeen jobs while everyone else waits for instructions.

Which brings us directly to one of the most ridiculous explanations offered during this meeting.

“THE SCENE WAS HUGE.”

Yes.

It fucking was.

Seattle Center is enormous.

Thousands of people were there.

People were running.

There were multiple victims.

Multiple weapons were involved.

SWAT was clearing buildings.

SWAT was clearing the IMAX theater.

People were sheltering in place.

Some of them were sheltering for hours.

And somehow the size and complexity of the scene became part of the explanation for why meaningful information wasn't getting out.

BULL. FUCKING. SHIT.

That's not the reason you can't communicate.

That's the reason you must.

Nobody is asking SPD to broadcast SWAT's location.

Nobody is asking for tactical information.

Nobody is asking you to announce which door officers are about to breach.

Nobody is asking investigators to compromise evidence or release information they haven't verified.

You communicate what you can.

"Police are continuing to search multiple locations at Seattle Center. If you are sheltering in place, remain where you are unless directed otherwise by officers. Continue to avoid Seattle Center. We will provide another update as soon as information is confirmed."

There.

Took about fifteen seconds.

No tactical information compromised.

No investigation destroyed.

No dignitary required.

And most importantly:

The terrified people hiding inside buildings know somebody hasn't fucking forgotten about them.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED IS STILL AN UPDATE.

This is what absolutely blows my mind.

People were sheltering in place.

Imagine being one of them.

Maybe you're hiding with your child.

Maybe you heard gunshots.

Maybe you watched people running.

Maybe somebody told you there were multiple shooters.

Your family is blowing up your phone.

Social media is filling with rumors.

You have absolutely no idea whether it's safe to leave.

Twenty minutes go by.

Forty.

An hour.

More.

Tell people something.

Even if nothing has changed.

"Searches are continuing. Remain sheltered in place. Officers are clearing locations systematically. We will update you again."

That's useful information.

Silence isn't.

Silence breeds rumors.

Silence generates panic.

Silence causes people to start making their own decisions.

Somebody decides they've waited long enough and walks out.

Someone believes some random bullshit posted online.

Families start calling 911 because they can't get information anywhere else.

Emergency communication is public safety.

It isn't the press conference five hours later.

And that distinction seems to have gotten completely fucking lost.

AND THEN WE GET TO THE “WAITING FOR DIGNITARIES” BULLSHIT.

If information was actually delayed because people were waiting for dignitaries to assemble for a press conference, I have one question:

WHO THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD FUCKING IDEA?

This wasn't a ribbon cutting.

Nobody was opening a community center.

People had been shot.

If somebody says:

"We need to wait for the dignitaries."

Somebody in command needs the balls, backbone and enough common sense to say:

“Override. Public safety comes first. Get the information out.”

That's leadership.

You don't need everybody standing behind a podium.

Hell, you don't need a podium.

Put the PIO in front of a camera.

Post an update.

Send an alert.

Tell reporters what can be confirmed.

Tell the public what they should do.

Then go back to managing the incident.

The mayor can arrive later.

The Assistant Chief can arrive later.

Everybody can hold the big formal press conference later.

Public-safety information doesn't need a fucking entourage.

AND LET'S TALK ABOUT CAPTAIN RANDY WARD.

Ward was the Incident Commander.

I have plenty of questions for him.

But I will give the man this:

HE SHOWED UP.

He sat in front of the committee and answered questions.

That matters.

It doesn't absolve him of anything.

It doesn't mean every decision was correct.

It means that when it was time to sit in the chair and answer for what happened under his command, he fucking showed up.

Good.

Now let's get everybody else who had a command role that night into the chairs.

Because there is one question I want answered very clearly.

DID ASSISTANT CHIEF TYRONE DAVIS EVER ASSUME COMMAND?

Davis was at Seattle Center.

Ward was the Incident Commander.

So what happened when Davis arrived?

Did Ward retain command?

Or did Davis assume it?

Yes or no.

If command transferred, what time?

Was the transfer announced?

Was it documented?

Who knew?

What responsibilities transferred with it?

If command did not transfer, fine.

Then Ward remained Incident Commander.

Say that.

And explain Davis's role.

Because rank and command are not necessarily the same thing.

The highest-ranking person standing on the property isn't magically Incident Commander.

That's exactly why formal command matters.

Everyone needs to know who has the fucking ball.

And figuring out whether command transferred does not require months of investigation.

It requires a timestamp.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT “BLUE SHIRT.”

Another person involved in this shooting is now being discussed publicly.

Councilmembers wanted to know who police are looking for.

What useful description did Acting Chief Andre Sayles give?

Essentially:

Blue shirt.

Dude.

Come the fuck on.

This was the Bite of Seattle.

How many people were wearing blue?

If investigators have a reliable description that can responsibly be released, release it.

If he's Black, say Black.

If he's white, say white.

If he's Asian, say Asian.

If investigators reliably know an ethnicity, communicate it accurately.

Give height.

Build.

Hair.

Clothing.

Distinctive characteristics.

Whatever reliable descriptors can safely be released.

Race is not an accusation.

It's a descriptor.

And if investigators had an earlier witness description that they now believe is unreliable, say that too.

"Subsequent evidence has caused investigators to question the accuracy of the initial description."

Fine.

That's an answer.

But “blue shirt” is not a meaningful description when you're talking about a person potentially connected to a deadly shooting in a crowd of thousands.

That's fucking Where's Waldo.

AND FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, SAY “GANG.”

If investigators believe this shooting was gang-related, then say:

Suspected gang-related shooting.

We're adults.

We can handle it.

Gang involvement matters because it provides context.

Was this targeted?

Could there be retaliation?

Are there associations investigators are examining?

Could additional violence occur?

Those are legitimate public-safety considerations.

You don't eradicate gangs by calling them “groups.”

You just make government sound like it's terrified of nouns.

AND HERE'S SOMETHING ELSE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND:

SPD DIDN'T JUST DISCOVER LARGE EVENTS.

Among Seattle cops, the Bite of Seattle has long been notoriously referred to as:

THE FIGHT OF SEATTLE.

And the Torchlight Parade?

Cops just call it:

TORCHFIGHT.

Why?

Because cops who have worked these events know.

Huge crowds.

Alcohol.

Juvenile groups aka GANGS.

Fights.

Disturbances.

Crowd-control issues.

Occasionally much worse.

That doesn't mean anyone could have predicted this particular shooting.

It means the risk environment was not new.

SPD has decades of institutional knowledge about policing major Seattle events.

And that knowledge doesn't just live in some retired cop's head.

It's written down.

EVERY MAJOR EVENT HAS AN OPERATIONS ORDER.

The Ops Order is basically the playbook.

Who is working?

Who is supervising?

Who is assigned where?

What's the command structure?

Who was the log officer? Where is the log?

What radio channels are being used?

What resources are available?

What are the contingencies?

What happens when shit goes sideways?

And after major events, agencies use After Action Reports.

What worked?

What didn't?

Where were the problems?

What should change next time?

And, importantly:

LESSONS LEARNED.

Which is a fantastic concept if anyone actually fucking learns them.

Maybe SPD needs to add another section:

HOW TO FUCK UP A FREE HOT DOG.

Because I want the previous Bite Ops Orders.

I want the previous Bite After Action Reports.

I want to know whether previous commanders already identified problems involving staffing, juvenile groups, crowd control, gang activity, communications, public information or command.

Because if previous reports identified the same vulnerabilities that surfaced July 26, that's important.

Then we're not just talking about something going wrong.

We're talking about institutional knowledge that may have been sitting in a filing system waiting for somebody to fucking read it.

CITY COUNCIL DESERVES SOME CREDIT.

A couple of councilmembers asked hard questions.

Good.

A couple essentially called bullshit when answers didn't make sense.

Also good.

That's what oversight is supposed to look like.

Three people died.

Nobody sitting at that table should be worried about hurting someone's feelings.

Unfortunately, there was also some pussyfooting around.

More investigation.

More reviews.

More waiting.

More process.

Some of that deeper review absolutely has value.

But establishing the basic facts of July 26?

This is an easy solve.

PULL. THE. FUCKING. RECORDS.

Pull the 911 tapes.

Pull CAD.

Pull the radio traffic.

Pull the staffing sheet.

Pull the Operations Order.

Pull the command logs.

Pull texts.

Pull emails.

Pull Teams messages.

Pull Public Affairs communications.

Pull communications with the Mayor's Office.

Pull the relevant surveillance and body-worn video.

Pull the previous Bite Operations Orders.

Pull the previous Bite After Action Reports.

Pull the Torchlight records.

Then put everything on one timeline.

Not somebody's memory.

Not somebody's interpretation.

Not somebody's carefully lawyered statement three weeks later.

TIMESTAMPS.

First shots.

First 911 call.

First officers dispatched.

Supervisors arrive.

Incident Command established.

SWAT requested.

Buildings being cleared.

Shelter-in-place instructions.

Davis arrives.

Command transfers—or doesn't.

PIO notified.

Public updates released.

Additional suspect information developed.

Press conference requested.

Decision to wait for dignitaries—if that's actually what happened.

Press conference finally occurs.

Minute by fucking minute.

Then put the testimony next to the records.

Does it match?

Great.

Doesn't match?

Now we know where to start asking harder questions.

THIS ISN'T ABOUT FINDING ONE PERSON TO SACRIFICE.

Shon Barnes is gone.

Fine.

But removing the Chief doesn't answer what happened July 26.

This isn't about finding the next head to put on a stick.

It's about figuring out where the system failed.

Was it planning?

Command?

Staffing?

Communication?

Decision-making?

Public information?

Did multiple things fail simultaneously?

And most importantly:

Were any of these failures already identified in previous After Action Reports?

Because if Seattle keeps documenting lessons without actually learning them, stop calling the section Lessons Learned.

Call the reports what they are:

EXPENSIVE FUCKING SCRAPBOOKS.

THREE PEOPLE ARE STILL DEAD.

A two-year-old was shot.

People sheltered in place for hours.

SWAT was clearing buildings.

Thousands of people needed accurate information.

And instead of using the complexity of the scene as an excuse for the lack of communication, somebody needs to recognize the obvious:

THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SCENE WAS EXACTLY WHY COMMUNICATION MATTERED.

SWAT clears buildings.

Detectives investigate.

Officers secure the scene.

Command coordinates resources.

And the PIO communicates with the public.

That's delegation.

That's Incident Command.

That's the fucking system.

And when circumstances demand it, leaders override the normal plan.

Common sense applies.

You don't wait five hours for dignitaries while frightened people shelter inside buildings wondering whether somebody with a gun is coming through the door.

You communicate what you know.

You acknowledge what you don't.

You give clear instructions.

You protect tactical information.

And then you update, update, update.

So Seattle doesn't need another month to answer the basic questions.

Pull the records.

Build the timeline.

Put Davis in the chair.

Put everyone else who had a meaningful command or communications role in the chair.

Compare their answers to the records.

And then release as much of it as legally possible to the public.

Because after three deaths and a two-year-old being shot, Seattle doesn't need another carefully choreographed exercise in government accountability theater.

It needs answers.

And if someone actually decided that critical public-safety communication should wait while everybody assembled the appropriate dignitaries for a press conference, we can put the first entry in this year's Lessons Learned section right fucking now:

WHEN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SHOT, OVERRIDE, DIPSHIT.

PUBLIC SAFETY COMES FIRST.

It always fucking does.

Public Safety Committee - Bite of Seattle Security Response