SEATTLE — Investigators have released their full report about former police Chief Adrian Diaz and the affair they say he had with a staff member, including the text of a romantic letter at the center of the investigation.
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Mayor Bruce Harrell detailed findings of the alleged relationship and the city announced Diaz was fired the same day.
The report obtained by KING 5 includes what the city says is a key piece of evidence - a handwritten card found in a work vehicle. City investigators believe the letter was written by former Chief of Staff Jamie Tompkins.
A portion of the letter reads, "I hope I always know your kiss. I hope I always feel your influence. I hope to always know you and me. I love you."
The letter, according to the report, included an envelope addressed to "AZD." Inside the letter, the author addresses "Adrian."
The card is signed "me."
The handwriting in the letter was analyzed by an expert, who concluded it was "highly probable that the handwriting that is in question on [the greeting card] was written by the same person ... whose handwriting is on [other documents]."
In a statement to KING 5, Tompkins said, “I am not the author of this anonymous greeting card and the first time I ever saw it was at the investigatory interview in August.”
Tompkins resigned from the department in November, one month before Diaz's termination.
When presented the letter, Diaz said he didn't recall receiving it and did not know who wrote it. He also told investigators that he did not recognize the handwriting, and the content and context of the card did not indicate to him who may have written it, according to the report.
The letter was found by a security detail whose duties include maintaining their assigned vehicles. That includes cleaning them out and organizing supplies. The letter was found in late May behind the front passenger seat.
The employee who found the card said he was scared to report it because he feared retaliation.
According to a letter from Harrell detailing the findings of the investigation, Diaz directly described to two subordinate employees that he was having a romantic relationship with an unnamed employee.
The investigation revealed Diaz appointed the employee to a position that did not exist at the time and had not formally existed for some time. Diaz said the human resources department helped prepare a job description, but two members of the police command staff contradicted this claim. According to Harrell's letter, there was no formal application process and the position appeared to overlap with the director of strategy communications position held by another employee. The newly-hired employee reported directly to Diaz and was placed on his command staff.
Harrell said in the letter Diaz did not file any conflict of interest notifications or disclosures regarding the relationship with the staffer. Investigators determined Diaz did not follow SPD policies, including dishonesty, professionalism, avoiding and disclosing conflicts of interest and improper personal relationships.
Harrell met with Diaz on Dec. 12 to discuss the findings of the report. In the meeting, Diaz said his relationship was platonic and criticized the objectivity of the investigation and questioned the credibility of multiple witnesses, according to Harrell's letter. The former police chief also said the investigator failed to obtain and review his phone records after they were requested. Harrell said Diaz still has not provided his phone for inspection at this time.
Harrell moved to terminate Diaz from the department on Tuesday, days after the meeting.
Quixem Ramirez contributed to this story.