Carmen Best
Carmen Best | |
|---|---|
| Chief of the Seattle Police Department | |
| Assumed office August 13, 2018 | |
| Mayor | Jenny Durkan |
| Preceded by | Kathleen O'Toole |
| Succeeded by | Adrian Diaz (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1965 (age 58–59)[1] Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northeastern University (MS) |
Carmen Best (born c. 1965) is an American law enforcement officer who has served as the chief of police of the Seattle Police Department since 2018. She was the first black woman to lead Seattle's police force. She announced her resignation in August 2020 following budget cuts.[2]
Early life and education
Best was born in Tacoma, Washington and attended Lincoln High School.[3] She earned a certificate in police management from the University of Washington and Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University. She completed training programs at the FBI National Executive Institute, FBI National Academy, Criminal Justice Executive Leadership Academy, and Major Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive Leadership Institute.[4]
Career
She was hired by the Seattle Police Department in 1992 and, prior to being appointed chief, had held the ranks of officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and deputy chief. She took over as interim chief of police on January 1, 2018, replacing Kathleen O'Toole, and was later appointed permanent chief by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan,[3] effective from August 13, 2018.[5] She became the first black woman to serve as Seattle's chief of police.[3][6]
On August 10, 2020, after the Seattle City Council voted to downsize the department by about 100 officers, she resigned, stating that she could not in good conscience shrink and thereby reduce diversity in the department which she had just grown by 110 officers in 2019, (with 40% of those new hires being persons of color)[7] noting that under police union rules, the last hired would be the first to be laid off, disproportionately affecting colored officers.[8][9][10] Best will be replaced by Assistant Chief Adrian Z. Diaz in an interim capacity.[11][12]
References
- ^ https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/carmen-best-1965/
- ^ https://www.wsj.com/articles/seattle-police-chief-resigns-after-budget-cuts-11597166461
- ^ a b c "Who is Carmen Best? Meet Seattle's new police chief". KING-TV. July 17, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Command Staff - Police | seattle.gov". www.seattle.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ "Command Staff". Seattle Police Department. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "Seattle mayor picks police veteran as new chief amid reforms". AP NEWS. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
- ^ Read, Richard (2020-08-11). "Seattle's first Black police chief quits, saying she's unwilling to sacrifice diversity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
She quickly got to work recruiting. In 2019, the department hired 108 officers — the most in more than a decade — of whom a record 39% were people of color.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Read 2020, p. 1. "Best announced Tuesday that she was retiring because she could not in good conscience implement the City Council’s decision to downsize the 1,400-person force by as many as 100 officers. Under police labor contracts, the officers hired most recently are generally first in line to be laid off. The 55-year-old chief said at a news conference that it felt “very duplicitous” for the city to hire “the best and the brightest and the most diverse” only to quickly let them go. A 28-year veteran of the force, Best went on to describe an email she received Monday from one of those recent hires, a Black man who wrote that he was “ecstatic” to be joining the department under her command. “He is one of the people that will probably not keep a job here,” Best said. “And that, for me, I’m done. I can’t do it.”"
- ^ Betz, Bradford (2020-08-11). "Outgoing Seattle police chief says it's not about money, but 'lack of respect' for officers - The chief's decision comes amid the city's plan to reduce the department by as many as 100 officers". FoxNews. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
She added: "The idea that we've worked so incredibly hard to make sure our department was diverse, that (it) reflects the community that we serve, to just turn that all on a dime and hack it off, without having a plan in place to move forward, is highly distressful for me." ...They said any layoffs would disproportionately target newer officers, often hired from Black and Brown communities, and would inevitably lead to lawsuits.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Beekman, Daniel (2020-08-11). "Seattle police Chief Carmen Best says City Council's budget cuts, lack of respect for SPD drove her retirement decision". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
The chief had opposed the move, warning that a rule mandating layoffs by reverse seniority would result in new officers, who are more likely to be officers of color, losing jobs. ...Best read a thank-you email she had received from a recently hired Black officer whom she described as a "great young man." "He is one of the people that will probably not keep a job here," the first Black woman to lead Seattle's police said. "And that, for me, I'm done. I can't do it."
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Sources: Seattle police Chief Carmen Best to resign". KIRO 7 News. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ^ "Seattle's Police Chief Resigns After Council Votes To Cut Department Funds". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
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