Seattle Police Chief cancels interview, acknowledges frequent journey outdoors metropolis

SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes canceled a deliberate interview with KOMO News on Wednesday, about half-hour earlier than he was scheduled to reply questions in regards to the lethal Seattle Center capturing and the period of time he has spent outdoors town.

Barnes had agreed Wednesday morning to debate the division’s response to Sunday’s capturing, the communication failures that adopted and his journey schedule. Instead of the interview, his workplace supplied parts of his calendar documenting his actions from late March by way of the top of July.

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The information seem to indicate Barnes was out of the workplace and out of doors the Seattle space practically a dozen instances throughout these 4 months, together with seven work-related conferences and 4 journeys to Chicago, the place Barnes has household.

The chief was attending a convention in Dallas on Sunday when gunfire erupted at Seattle Center, killing three individuals and injuring a number of others.

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Questions about Barnes’ whereabouts have lingered since he acknowledged he was not in Seattle when the capturing occurred.

The capturing was adopted by hours of restricted public data and criticism over town’s failure to ship an emergency textual content alert to individuals at Seattle Center.

At a Tuesday information convention, Barnes strongly rejected solutions that he incessantly travels or is routinely absent from town.

“I don’t travel as often as I would like to,” Barnes mentioned. “I think any reports that I’m gone every weekend are grossly misstated.”

Barnes additionally defended his dedication to the division, saying his ardour could be “in full display, especially if someone is questioning my work ethic or my integrity.”

An picture of Shon Barnes on July 28, 2026, throughout a press convention in Seattle. (KOMO)

According to the calendar supplied by the chief’s workplace, Barnes traveled to conferences in Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Dallas and at the very least one extra location. Those journeys had been separate from 4 visits to Chicago.

The schedule additionally contains blocked-off time this week for a dental process and a medical appointment.

By KOMO News’ rely, the journey and different absences mirrored within the paperwork quantity to shut to 50 days when Barnes was not working from his Seattle workplace. Some of these dates included weekends or journey days, and the information supplied don’t essentially point out whether or not Barnes was conducting division enterprise remotely.

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The calendar seems to designate an appearing police chief throughout every absence. Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis was listed as appearing chief Sunday and led the division’s first formal information briefing roughly 5 hours after the capturing.

The information additionally present Barnes remained in Seattle all through town’s World Cup matches and is scheduled to be within the metropolis throughout this week’s Seafair occasions. The calendar, nevertheless, doesn’t totally clarify the aim or necessity of every journey, why Barnes attended seven conferences inside a number of months or how he balances that journey with main Washington state’s largest municipal police division.

KOMO News additionally recognized obvious discrepancies involving dates Barnes traveled to and from Chicago and requested the division to make clear them. Those questions remained unresolved Wednesday afternoon.

Barnes’ workplace mentioned he personally pays for personal journey to Chicago. The division pays for conference-related journey, though officers mentioned convention organizers typically cowl a portion of these bills. It was not clear why the division didn’t present his information earlier than the top of March.

KOMO News deliberate to ask Barnes instantly in regards to the journey, the calendar discrepancies, his choice to attend the Dallas convention and whether or not his absence affected town’s response to Sunday’s capturing. Those questions went unanswered after the chief canceled the interview shortly earlier than it was set to start.