(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said Friday that communication breakdowns that left the public waiting for hours for information on a food festival shooting that left three dead last weekend were part of the reason she asked former Police Chief Shon Barnes to resign earlier this week.
Wilson said the breakdowns that occurred Sunday night were unacceptable after the shooting at the Bite of Seattle Festival at the Seattle Center.
“I think part of this is communications failures with SPD and part of this is communications failure between SPD and my office,” she said during a press conference at city hall.
Those breakdowns resulted in an approximate five-hour delay between a police department social media posting at 6:30 p.m. that a mass casualty event had occurred and a press conference held near 11 p.m.
Wilson also blamed herself for not realizing the police had not disseminated information in a timely manner, that an emergency alert system had not been activated and for initially giving out inaccurate information.
Wilson’s office said at around 8:30 Sunday night that two suspects had been arrested, when only one, a 15-year-old boy, had been taken into custody.
She said procedures were being reviewed.
“So I think there’s a lot of things we can learn from how Sunday unfolded, and we’re really committed to moving forward in a better way, and this leadership change I think will facilitate that,” Wilson said.
Wilson announced late Thursday that Barnes had resigned. She refused to discuss his severance package. Barnes was one of the most highly paid police chiefs in the U.S., with a salary of more than $370,000 a year.
Barnes wasn’t present at the press conference Sunday night because he was attending a police conference in Dallas.
But Barnes’ frequent trips to conferences and trips back to Illinois, where his family remained after he first was named interim chief in January 2025, had been the subject of prior media and public scrutiny.
His absence from the Sunday press conference highlighted that he was frequently out of town.
At a second press conference on Monday, Barnes got into a heated exchange with a reporter who was questioning him over his absences.
Wilson said a key criterion in a search for a new police chief will be “a leader who is really committed to this city.”
Wilson has faced criticism from civil rights leaders, members of the business community, and eight of the nine City Council members for asking Barnes to leave.
Wilson said that, as chief executive, she had “a window” into the police department that City Council members did not have. She said that Barnes was asked to leave for a variety of reasons.
She did not answer multiple questions to elaborate.
While the city council and Wilson have had disagreements during her first seven months in office, the discourse has been mostly civil, with council members not directly criticizing the mayor.
The Barnes removal changed that.
City Council Chairman Bob Kettle, who supported Barnes, raised questions Thursday evening about Wilson’s decision, noting that Seattle has had four police chiefs in a span of two and a half years.
“The people of Seattle deserve better; they deserve viable leadership especially as we close out a busy summer of public events,” he said during a press appearance Thursday at city hall.
Kettle noted that communication between the mayor’s office and the council about public safety has been minimal during Wilson’s tenure.
“I do not understand why, but this has been ongoing for six plus months,” Kettle added, citing tension between the Wilson administration and Barnes.
“There’s a troubling pattern emerging where the best leaders are being asked to leave.”
Barnes had been in the police chief’s position for less than 19 months. He was the choice of former Mayor Bruce Harrell in January 2025. After Wilson defeated Harrell in November 2025 for the position, she decided to keep Barnes on as chief.
Councilwoman Maritza Rivera was more direct in her criticism of the mayor.
“Her lack of experience and her incompetence have led to poor decision-making and put the safety of our communities at risk,” she said.
City Council President Joy Hollingsworth called Wilson’s decision “reckless” given that it was happening at a time when Seattle is grieving over Sunday night’s events and that an active investigation is still going on over the alleged gang warfare that occurred.
Additionally, several council members released a statement questioning Wilson’s decision.
“When communities are grieving, major decisions should be made with great deliberation; making a significant leadership change in this moment puts our city in a precarious situation,” the statement read.
“Having cycled through four police chiefs in just two and a half years, our priority must be stability, not further disruption. The people of Seattle deserve reliable leadership, especially as we close out a busy summer of public events.”
The Downtown Seattle Association also criticized Wilson’s decision to force Barnes out.
“Seattle had been on a positive course on public safety with police hiring trending up and crime trending down, particularly in the downtown core. It’s imperative the next chief of police is able to maintain progress that’s been made and instill confidence in our community,” said Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes in the statement.
The DSA also included statistics that it said showed crime was down in several key areas, including zero homicides in June and a decrease in violent crime overall during Barnes tenure.
Wilson said a national search will be conducted for a new chief, but in the meantime she had confidence in her interim pick, Deputy Chief Andre Sayles.
“He is deeply committed to community policing and youth engagement, consistently prioritizing the relationships between law enforcement and the people being served,” she said.
Sayles said at the press conference that Barnes chose him to join the department.
While Sayles has been a police chief before, it was in Beloit, Wisconsin, a city of 36,000 residents.
Sayles said during the press conference he was committed to finding anyone else connected to the shooting who remained at large, but wanted to act carefully to ensure they arrested the right person.