SPD Chief Appoints Allies to Newly Created Executive Positions

Chief Shon Barnes bypassed the regular hiring process to build his team, which will include two colleagues from Madison and a corporate communications strategist-turned-"Chief Communications Officer."

By Erica C. Barnett

New Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes plans to add at least four new staffers to his executive team, bypassing a standard hiring process to appoint his own top staff directly. Barnes told SPD staff about the new hires in an email on Friday.

PubliCola reported the new hires exclusively on Bluesky last week.

Former police chief Adrian Diaz was heavily criticized for creating a new position and skipping the usual hiring process when he hired former FOX13 anchor Jamie Tompkins as his chief of staff, a position that had not existed since the late 1990s. Tompkins and Diaz both lost their jobs last year amid allegations that they violated ethics rules while having an affair, then lied during an internal investigation into those charges.

In a statement, Barnes said said he was "taking deliberate steps to build an executive team capable of supporting a modern, accountable, and community-centered police department."

Three of the four new hires are from outside the city of Seattle; Barnes has not announced the fourth.

Barnes has not publicly identified his chief of staff, but a Facebook post (since edited) by former police chief Carmen Best appeared to identify the chief of staff as Alan Ricketts, a retired police captain who followed Barnes from Greensboro, NC, where Barnes was a captain, to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was police chief before coming to Seattle.

Lee Hunt, previously the director of data, reform, and innovation in Madison, will hold the new position of "Executive Director of Crime and Community Harm Reduction," and will develop "a comprehensive, data-driven strategy for preventing and reducing crime and disorder," according to Barnes' email to SPD staff. Like Ricketts, Hunt previously worked with Barnes in Greensboro before following him to Madison.

Corporate communications strategist Barbara DeLollis, who previously worked as a business consultant and corporate recruiter, will be Barnes' "Chief Communications Officer," another new title. According to Barnes' email, DeLollis "will lead our communications team with a focus on rebuilding trust, enhancing transparency, and telling the SPD story in a way that fosters understanding, builds community pride, and supports morale."

The fourth new appointee will be a new deputy police chief for professional development and investigations, who, according to Barnes' email to staff, "will work alongside our Assistant Chiefs to support professional growth within the department and ensure our investigative efforts are fully supported, coordinated and collaborative."

So far,Barnes said his four new hires "reflect a combination of internal talent and national expertise—people I’ve come to know and respect over my 25 years in public safety. ... Each appointee brings a unique skill set that will help the department address critical areas such as crime prevention, officer wellness, professional development, public communication, and operational efficiency."

Barnes said the department is "working within existing budget parameters" to add the new positions, but did not respond to PubliCola's questions about how much each position will cost. Deputy chiefs typically make more than $250,000 a year, while executive-level command staff make a little less, around $230,000, according to city compensation records. Also unclear: How much the city plans to compensate Barnes' new team for relocation costs.

PubliCola would file a records request for this information, but SPD is currently refusing to respond to more than one request at a time, resulting in an years-long backlog that obstructs public access to information.

SPD's budget always includes ample padding in the form of funded but vacant positions, allowing the department to pay for unbudgeted extras like marketing contracts, overtime, and discretionary staff.

Barnes said he planned to announce additional appointments "in the coming weeks."