In a June 17 interview, the police chief addressed the “false allegations” and also spoke about his sexuality.
SEATTLE — Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz is speaking out against allegations of misconduct against him involving several female staff members with the Seattle Police Department (SPD).
Diaz is facing lawsuits from at least seven employees who have alleged racial and gender discrimination within the department, along with a female officer alleging she has dealt with sexual harassment from Diaz.
In an interview on “The Jason Rantz Show,” Diaz denied those claims and he also publicly came out as gay.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to just tell my story,” he said in an interview on June 17. “It’s a story that [I’ve] struggled with over the last four years, that I’m a gay Latino man.”
KING 5 has reached out to Diaz for comment and requested an interview.
Diaz, who began working for SPD in 1997, is married with three kids and said that he has been living for years in a level of secrecy, trying to find the right time to come out.
He said there was never a good time to make his announcement due to the onset of the pandemic and its impacts, social justice movements, changes in SPD leadership and now, a flurry of allegations against him and other SPD leaders.
In a lawsuit filed in April, four female officers say they have dealt with bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination at the Seattle Police Department. They filed a $5 million claim singling out the alleged actions of Sgt. John O’Neil, former Chief Adrian Diaz and Human Resources Manager Rebecca McKechnie.
O’Neil and Diaz are accused of engaging in “grooming” and “predatory behavior.” McKechnie is alleged to have engaged in victim blaming when officers came forward with their complaints.
Deanna Nollette, the former assistant chief of the criminal investigations bureau at the Seattle Police Department, filed a sex and wage discrimination lawsuit in January against former Chief Adrian Diaz, alleging that she was excluded from social events, networking opportunities and training because she is a woman, and retaliated against for applying to the police chief position.
Former Assistant Chief Eric Greening filed a lawsuit against the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and former Chief Adrian Diaz, alleging that Diaz retaliated against him for raising concerns about racism and discrimination within the department.
In the Jason Rantz interview, Diaz also referenced a rumor that he was having an affair with his department’s chief of staff.
“In my head, it’s clear that these aren’t true and no one gave me an opportunity,” he said of the allegations.
When questioned why he decided to come out now, Diaz said he wants to live truthfully.
“I think it addresses a lot of the concerns of what people had,” he said. “Just because you’re a gay man doesn’t mean you can’t be a misogynist, but I know who I am and I know what I’ve done and I know that I’ve been always true to myself and always treated people well and respectfully.”
Diaz said he came out to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell about four months ago and that he was fully supportive. “I needed that support,” he said, calling Harrell’s support “crucial.”
At a later time, amid what Diaz calls a targeted effort of allegations against him, Harrell and Diaz decided together that he would step down so as not to “overshadow” the work of the officers.
Diaz was reassigned to special projects with the department at the time, but announced in the June 17 interview that he has applied for the police chief position in Austin, Texas.
“I want to make sure people understand who I am. I want to live my truth, I don’t want to be hidden behind any curtain or anything like that,” Diaz said. “I want another opportunity to serve a city and it’s not easy when you have some false allegations against you. I don’t want to have any secrets if I decide to go to another city.”
