SPD Paid $40,000 for Two-Day Media Training Requested by Adrian Diaz Chief of Staff

We took a look at the training materials for SPD staff who deal with the media.

A collage of images of officers with children, plus a puppy, from SPD media training presentation

By Erica C. Barnett

The Seattle Police Department spent $40,000 last year on two media training sessions for high-ranking department staff, flying consultants from San Francisco and Tampa for two-day sessions in March and June of last year. One of the trainings was for executive-level SPD staff; the other was for command staff with the rank of captain or below.

An SPD spokesman confirmed the training "was initially requested by Jamie Tompkins and approved at the request of then Chief Adrian Diaz."

Tompkins resigned last year after an investigation by the city's Office of Inspector General concluded that she, along with Diaz, lied about an affair they were having while she was his chief of staff. After several female SPD officers accused Diaz of sexual harassment and fostering a culture of discrimination, Diaz announced he was gay on a right-wing talk show and sued the city for discrimination based on sexual orientation—which, he suggested, made the very idea that he was involved with a woman preposterous.

According to an invoice for one of the two trainings, obtained through records provided to PubliCola, the $20,000 price tag included a $1,227 flight from Tampa for one trainer and a $636 flight from San Francisco for another, plus around $2,600 for hotel rooms and miscellaneous travel expenses during the two-day event. The trainers were also paid a total of $15,000 for their work.

One training was held last March; the second, in June. Both came shortly after Mayor Bruce Harrell implemented a hiring freeze that prevented city departments from replacing people when they leave. Harrell's proposed budget reduced the travel and training budget for several departments, including an initial $35,000 cut to travel and training for the Office of Emergency Management, which responds to disasters.

So what did city taxpayers get for their $40,000? For that, we're going to need to take a brief look at the PowerPoint. At 131 pages, it's too long to cover in full, but you can see the entire presentation here.

The presentation starts by emphasizing the importance of getting the media to write positive stories by "embracing communication as a value," rather than a "technique" to show that police are "Worthy of the Power to Arrest & Use Deadly Force."

How can police elicit positive coverage? According to the presentation, by offering media the chance to watch demonstrations of new technology (cue video of stiff-armed cops getting hit with a Bola Wrap), inviting them on ridealongs, and creating pre-packaged videos that look appealing, which they're likely to run "even if it has little news value."

As this photo of Adrian Diaz attests, "You're in Control":

The less said about Diaz' "Money Sound Bites," the better.

After critical incidents (like when officers get caught roaring with laughter over someone who just got killed by a speeding cop, or the press finds out about the faux tombstone for a victim of police in a precinct break room), it's important to react quickly, the presentation notes. Be decisive, like a bunch of cops hiding behind a riot shield, and not reactive, which makes AI-generated protesters demand indictments:

When in crisis, there's even an easy-to-remember acronym:

Officers also learned that social media is changing the way people get their information. You know it's an up-to-date image, because the image features thought bubbles that say "SMS" and "BLOG".

The media are "not your friends," the presentation notes. If police don't provide something that seems like information, the media will "usually get it wrong," as demonstrated by a random 11-year-old tweet about earplugs.

No corporate presentation would be complete without a quote misattributed to Mark Twain (via meetville.com, which appears to be a dating site).

Finally, the SPD brass got a refresher on what to say when they don't want to answer questions.

Now, look, a lot of this stuff about the media is true, especially when it local TV news. Yes, there are dogged, dedicated reporters at every outlet, but news stations often serve as training grounds for communications jobs at police departments—as Tompkins, a former FOX13 reporter Diaz hired shortly after she did a flattering story about him, knows well.

But nothing in this presentation—including the 90 minutes or so of videos that pad it out—is remotely novel, nor does it differ from what officials authorized to speak to the media are currently doing every day. Hell, I worked in communications for a hot second with no formal training at all, and even I knew that the job involved posting things on social media, pitching positive stories, spinning negative ones in the best possible light, and trying to avoid insulting reporters or saying something offensive. (SPD has historically been pretty bad at these last two, but I don't think it's for lack of media training). This is how-to-boil-water stuff: At some point, someone probably has to tell you how to do it, but it probably doesn't require hiring a $40,000 consultant.