Is it finally housecleaning time at the Seattle Police Department? It started looking that way yesterday evening when Chief Kathleen O’Toole announced that, come January, she’d be looking to replace five of the department’s assistant chiefs – and welcoming out-of-department applicants. The positions in play are currently held by assistant chiefs Nick Metz (patrol operations), Robin Clark (criminal investigations), Paul McDonagh (special ops), Tag Gleason (compliance and professional standards) and Mike Washburn (the 911 call center). Needless to say, the police unions aren’t thrilled. “We’re going to arbitration on this,” Eric Sano, SPD captain and president of the Seattle Police Management Association, told The Seattle Times, which reported that “opening assistant chief positions to outsiders earlier triggered an unfair-labor-practice complaint from SPMA. — M.B.
Wanted: 5 Assistant SPD chiefs
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By Mary Bruno
Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,
Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,