Mayor Wilson Announces Strengthened Public Safety Communication Practices
SEATTLE — Mayor Katie Wilson today announced strengthened public safety communication practices for both the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Police Department (SPD). The updated framework reinforces the City’s commitment to transparency, timely information, and clear departmental accountability during a critical transition period within SPD.
The practices—some existing, some newly formalized—ensure consistent, coordinated communication between the Mayor’s Office and SPD during any significant public safety event.
Statement from Mayor Katie Wilson
“The people of Seattle deserve clear, timely, and accountable communication from their government, and that work gets better today. Interim Chief Sayles and I have updated how we and our staff communicate. Going forward, we will be in direct contact during any significant event, and he will provide stability and leadership for the department as we search for a permanent chief.”
–Mayor Katie Wilson
Emergency Communication Cadence
SPD maintains a structured, multi‑channel emergency communication plan to ensure consistent, timely, and accessible information during critical incidents. The updated practices clarify roles, expectations, and coordination between SPD and the Mayor’s Office so there is so there is no confusion or miscommunication about the situation and the press and public receive clear communications.
Key Principles
- Public safety remains the top priority.
- Clear communication roles when SPD leads and when the Mayor’s Office participates.
- Transparent public updates through AlertSeattle, social media channels, and media briefings.
- Expectation of providing information to the media within one hour of a significant incident, when it’s safe and possible to do so. This will not delay earlier updates via AlertSeattle or social media channels.
- Coordinated staffing to ensure on-call command and communications personnel are always identified per SPD’s Senior Command and Mayor’s Office Crime Incident Notification Directive.
- Pre‑event coordination:
- SPD will brief the Mayor’s Office on activation plans, command structure, and communications leads.
- The Mayor’s Office will provide SPD and other emergency partners with lead policy, operational, and communications contacts for the event.
Statement from Interim Chief Andre Sayles
“It’s truly an honor to be called upon by the mayor to serve as Interim Police Chief, and I am deeply grateful for the confidence the people of Seattle have placed in me. Rest assured, I am committed to delivering meaningful results for everyone in our city.
To the community of Seattle: My focus is on ensuring this department is open and collaborative as we can possibly be. We are going to make sure we’re always here for you, working to build strong partnerships between officers and residents that will truly keep our community safe and thriving.”
— Andre Sayles, Interim Chief of Police, Seattle Police Department
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