Police chief finalists grilled by City Council

Seattle's next police chief will be an ardent believer in carefully listening to the community as a way to deal with crime, help prevent it and form lasting partnerships.

All three finalists — Interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz; Sacramento, Calif., Police Chief Rick Braziel; and East Palo Alto, Calif., Police Chief Ron Davis — repeatedly hit on that theme during separate appearances before the Seattle City Council on Wednesday.

The three later made an evening appearance at a Seattle Center public forum, where they echoed the same sentiments.

Braziel, 50, mixing an inspirational tone with academic touches, told the council he would be "like a big sponge" accepting feedback from all corners.

Davis, 46, displaying an outgoing personality, said he has engaged youths in his city by seeking out their opinions and recognizing what they "bring to the table."

Diaz, 52, exhibiting the introspective and thoughtful approach that has marked his 15-month tenure as interim chief, said he would put Seattle communities in the "driver's seat," using neighborhood surveys to change the cultural assumption that police know best.

The three were chosen last month from a list of nine semifinalists by a search committee formed by Mayor Mike McGinn. Sometime this month, McGinn will make his selection, a decision that Councilmember Tim Burgess, chair of the council's Public Safety and Education Committee, called a "tough choice" after listening to the finalists.

Each finalist made a brief presentation before being questioned individually by the council, with Davis shaking the hands of the council members before he took a seat.

A tough tenure,

a plan to address race

Diaz cited "incredible successes" in the midst of what he called "an incredibly difficult year" that included the slaying of a Seattle officer.

He said he hopes to push ahead with changes to how the department combats street crime, including a policing plan tailored to specific neighborhoods' needs.

"I feel like there's unfinished business that needs to continue to happen, and I'd like to be here to see it happen," said Diaz, who replaced former Chief Gil Kerlikowske when Kerlikowske became President Obama's drug czar last year.

Diaz faced questions related to the recently disclosed videotape that showed two Seattle officers stomping and kicking a prone Latino man during an April 17 robbery investigation. Detective Shandy Cobane can be heard telling the man, "I'm going to beat the [expletive] Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?"

The two officers are currently the subject of a criminal investigation.

In response to a question, Diaz told the council he plans to send all of the department's officers through a training program called "Perspectives and Profiling," a scenario-based exercise that already has been given to 600 officers over the past two years.

Diaz, who is Latino, said the program "leads to rich discussion" about the often-avoided subject of race.

Even before the videotaped incident, Diaz's tenure as interim chief included the fatal shooting of Officer Timothy Brenton and the wounding of his partner on Oct. 31 and the apprehension of the accused gunman, Christopher Monfort.

A month later, a Seattle police officer fatally shot Maurice Clemmons, who'd killed four Lakewood police officers in Pierce County.

Diaz, who joined the department in 1980, said his most important learning experiences during his time at the department came when Kerlikowske put him in charge of the budget.

McGinn has said he wants a chief who can manage the budget efficiently in a time of budget constraints.

Among his current efforts, Diaz said, is to give suspected drug offenders an option besides jail at the point of arrest. He said the department is working with public defenders to give criminal suspects the option of taking part in social-service work, saving enforcement costs.

At Wednesday night's public forum, Diaz listed "integrity" as the attribute that most qualifies him to be chief, saying he has devoted his "entire being" to protecting the community.

First impressions,

a passion for fitness

Braziel, who became Sacramento's police chief two years ago after joining the department 30 years ago, said if he is named Seattle's chief, he'd make it a priority to get out in the community.

He said he would spend time with patrol officers on ride-alongs to learn what the department does well, similar to what he has done in Sacramento by regularly joining officers on the street.

"All I am is a line employee that got promoted," he said. "I'm nothing special."

One priority, he said, would be to focus on the impressions the department makes from afar — how officers talk to people, how well they listen and the appearance of their uniforms.

"Everything about me is about a purpose," Braziel told the council. He said he turned his personal passion for fitness into a culture in his department, saving millions of dollars in workers' compensation claims. If he's hired in Seattle, he said, people would see him out on bike rides and runs.

"When you meet with the mayor, you should bring up the bike thing," Councilmember Sally Clark told Braziel, referring to the mayor's penchant for bicycling. "That'll be good."

Answering a question about youth violence, Braziel said officers should focus on intervention with children as young as fifth grade. It will take years to see the results, he said, but that's the way to make a long-term impact on the gang problem.

Braziel also spoke about the weekly meetings he holds in Sacramento to examine crime data.

"It's not just about the number of arrests," he said. "It's, 'Did we solve the problem?' "

For example, he said, there was an uptick in rapes last year in Sacramento. Officers studied the data and found the victims usually knew their attackers, and that many of the rapes were related to alcohol and drugs.

To address the problem, the department partnered with a citizens group, got a grant and started a campaign called "Keep Your Wits" that they took out to bars.

In comments at the public forum, Braziel said he values creativity over bureaucracy, and that police departments should operate more like private businesses with "public-sector accountability."

Big-city issues

in a small town

Davis, noting his department of 39 sworn officers is much smaller than Seattle's, said his budget likely has the same line items — "except for the zeros."

Davis, who has been chief in the San Francisco Bay Area city for five years, spent 19 years before that with the Oakland Police Department.

When he became chief in East Palo Alto, Davis said, he was forced to examine the budgetary details of the department and appreciate each taxpayer dollar.

He also said he'd dealt with racial tensions, the murder of an officer, the crash of a plane into a neighborhood and other big-city issues.

"What I think I bring to the table for Seattle is a very unique expertise," said Davis, who listed his top goals as making Seattle safer and defusing tensions generated by the videotape.

Davis said, he helped combat a graffiti problem in East Palo Alto by encouraging young people to "transform graffiti into art" and giving them spaces to ply their art.

Davis also spoke of dealing with new immigrants who are sometimes afraid to report domestic violence because they fear deportation. He said he has made it a point to make it clear "that we do not engage in deportation activities."

On the contrary, he said, officers are willing to help victims get visas as victims of violent crime, and assist them in getting counseling or moving forward with separations or protective orders.

When he took over as chief, Davis said, his department was the "most dysfunctional police department in the country."

But morale has improved "tremendously," Davis said.

Davis told the audience at the public forum that he has addressed the issue of racial profiling by telling others, "Race is a descriptor, not a predictor." Stopping someone based on a description, time and proximity is different from merely detaining someone at a later date based on general information, he said.

Burgess, the council public-safety chair, singled out Davis and Braziel for understanding the importance of the relationship between police and the community, while noting Diaz knows the city and its police officers.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com