In a spate of changes at the Seattle Police Department, Interim Chief of Police Harry Bailey announced on Jan. 29 that Southwest Precinct Commander Joe Kessler was being promoted to Assistant Chief, Patrol Operations Bureau and replacing him in the role of Commander would be Captain Steve Wilske, who was promoted to that rank in August. Captain Pierre Davis, who has often met with media and done community outreach in West Seattle has been promoted to East Precinct Commander.

Bureau and Precinct Command Assignments
by Interim Chief of Police, Harry Bailey on January 29, 2014

Since I have become the Interim Chief of Police, I have made it a priority to keep the employees of the Seattle Police Department informed about all of the changes occurring—I want you to hear about them from me first. With that in mind, I would like to give you some information about the reorganization of two bureaus and make some important personnel announcements.

Bureau Changes
The Professional Standards Bureau has been reorganized and will be known as the Compliance and Professional Standards Bureau. It now includes Compliance Office staff; the Education & Training Section; and the Audit, Policy & Research Section, as well as the newly-formed Force Investigations Unit. In addition, the Special Operations Bureau has been divided into two separate bureaus: Special Operations and Homeland Security.

Personnel Announcements:

I would like to announce the promotion of Captain Nick Metz to Assistant Chief.

I have made the following personnel assignments for my Command Staff:

Assistant Chief Michael Washburn Chief of Staff
Assistant Chief Tag Gleason Compliance and Professional Standards Bureau
Assistant Chief Robin Clark Special Operations Bureau
Assistant Chief Paul McDonagh Homeland Security Bureau
Assistant Chief Joe Kessler Patrol Operations Bureau
Assistant Chief Carmen Best Criminal Investigations Bureau
Assistant Chief Nick Metz Field Support Bureau

I have also assigned the following captains as precinct commanders:

Captain Chris Fowler West Precinct Commander
Captain Steve Wilske Southwest Precinct Commander
Captain Pierre Davis East Precinct Commander
Captain John Hayes South Precinct Commander
Captain Dave Emerick North Precinct Commander

Clearly, not all of the assignments have been announced and we will continue to evaluate additional personnel assignments within each bureau.

Each member of my team is committed to my goal of achieving the highest standards in policing.

Harry Bailey
Interim Chief of Police