Hacks and Wonks Podcast: New Info in Police Chief Investigation, Cathy Moore Says Sayonara to Council, and More
By Erica C. Barnett
I was this week's guest on the Hacks and Wonks podcast, where host Crystal Fincher and I talked about the news of this very news-heavy week, including the news that City Councilmember Cathy Moore is stepping down and the latest revelations from the investigation that led to the firing of former police chief Adrian Diaz late last year.
As I reported earlier this week, newly released investigation documents, including interview transcripts, recordings, and handwriting samples, add more evidence to the case that Diaz hired and promoted a woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair, Jamie Tompkins. (Tompkins resigned before the investigation was complete and stopped cooperating with investigators; she's since sued the city, alleging harassment.)
Tompkins has promoted an alternative version of the rumors about her relationship with Diaz—a conspiracy that involves forgery, planted evidence, coordinated false testimony from all three of Diaz' security staff, and police officers following Diaz surreptitiously around the county, forcing him to sweep his car and office for "bugs" and switch vehicles frequently to make himself harder to track.
I mention these details not to say that they're individually implausible, but to contrast them with the story that investigators found likely to be true: That Diaz had an intimate relationship with Tompkins, that he created a new position for her (with duties that were unclear to others at SPD), and that both of them lied about it to investigators—which, for Diaz, represented a serious form of police misconduct, for which he was fired.
We also talked about City Councilmember Cathy Moore's announcement that she's stepping down and what that means for the council; King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson's refusal to leave his position or drop out of the King County Executive race despite credible stalking and harassment allegations against him; and former city councilmember Kshama Sawant's entrance into the race against US Rep. Adam Smith (D-9).
Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts.