Carmen Best selected as Seattle's chief of police

Carmen Best nominated as Seattle police chief

SEATTLE -- Carmen Best will become the next chief of the Seattle Police Department.

"For the past several months, members of the police chief search committee have spent countless hours looking for the best candidate for Seattle's next Chief of Police," said Durkan. "Today, I am proud to nominate the best person for the job: Interim Chief Carmen Best."

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan made the announcement Tuesday.

"I wanted to thank all of you for your support. I will be announced as the next Seattle Police Chief," said Best. "I am excited to lead the men and women of this great agency. It is my commitment to you that I will move the department ahead on continued improvement and innovation."

Carmen Best, Mayor Durkan comments

After being excluded from the final three, Interim Chief Best got a second chance when former Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay dropped out.

A 26-year veteran of SPD, Best has the support of many community members and the union that represents the department’s rank and file officers.

“I have the credentials. I have the resume. I have the heart," she said. "I don’t have the hometown girl advantage. I have the qualifications advantage. I am the one for this job. I hope the citizens and the mayor and others will see that and make me the permanent police chief.”

Q13 News' Brandi Kruse interviewed all three finalists last week. The other two finalists were Inspector Eddie Frizell of the Minneapolis Police Department and Assistant Chief Ely Reyes of the Austin Police Department.

Brandi interviews SPD chief candidate Carmen Best

Seattle's former chief Kathleen O'Toole, who helped reform the department after federal officials found officers were too quick to use force against minorities, stepped down at the end of 2017.

During a 28-month span from 2014 to 2016, incidents in which Seattle officers used force that caused or could be expected to cause injury fell at least 60 percent from a similar period in 2009 to 2011.

Former Mayor Ed Murray hired O'Toole, a former Boston police commissioner. She was the first woman to run Seattle's department.