Interim police chief implements changes up top
SEATTLE -- Interim Seattle Police Chief Harry Bailey announced a bevy of organizational changes Wednesday, including appointing a new assistant chief.
Bailey, appointed earlier this month as the new interim police chief by mayor Ed Murray, announced former captain Nick Metz would take over again as the department's assistant chief. Metz previously served as assistant chief, but was demoted by previous interim chief Jim Pugel.
Bailey also announced the reorganization of the Professional Standards Bureau; which will now be known as the Compliance and Professional Standards Bureau, and tasked with keeping tabs on the department's progress toward federally mandated reforms. The Special Operations Bureau has been divided into two separate bureaus, named special operations and homeland security.
In addition, Bailey made the following assignments to his 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
He 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
This story will be updated following a 2 p.m. news conference.