SEATTLE — Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz was not selected for the police chief position of the Austin Police Department in Texas, according to information released Tuesday. The city of Austin announced its two finalists, out of more than 30 people who applied, under consideration for the department’s highest leadership role.
Diaz was removed from the Seattle Police Department’s top leadership role on May 29 and reassigned to special projects within the department.
At the time, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said he appointed an independent investigator after allegations of misconduct were brought against him and other SPD leaders by several women of the Seattle department.
Diaz is facing lawsuits from at least seven employees who have alleged racial and gender discrimination within the department, along with a female officer alleging she has dealt with sexual harassment from Diaz.
Harrell said Diaz suggested "we put the needs of the city first" and agreed to step down.
"We also want to make sure that anyone that has any complaints within the department does not have a threat of retaliation or any blowback, so to speak, while the investigation occurs," Harrell said in May.
In June, Diaz spoke out publicly for the first time against allegations and claims.
In the interview, he revealed he had applied for the police chief job in Austin. In that same interview, Diaz spoke about his sexuality and coming to terms with his identity as a gay Latino man.
“I want to make sure people understand who I am," Diaz said at the time of the June 18 interview. "I want to live my truth. I don’t want to be hidden behind any curtain or anything like that. I want another opportunity to serve a city and it’s not easy when you have some false allegations against you. I don’t want to have any secrets if I decide to go to another city."
The Austin Police Department will pick between Jeffrey Norman, the current police chief in Milwaukee, and Lisa Davis, the assistant police chief in Cincinnati, KING 5’s sister station in Austin reports. Norman would be Austin's first Black chief and Davis would be the city's second female chief, according to KVUE.
