Many of our cities feel pretty lawless to folks who live there. The local headlines are filled with stories of shootings, stabbings, robberies, and mayhem.
This is more true in some places than others. Seattle isn’t known as the most dangerous city in the nation or anything, but it has problems and has had them for quite a while.
Also like many other places, Seattle is seeing a lot of police officers leave the job. It seems that badmouthing cops and trying to defund them is terrible for retention. Who knew?
Recently, a female officer’s exit letter made news, and boy is it fascinating.
A female Seattle cop has written a brutal exit letter upon retiring, where she blamed the police chief’s ‘failed leadership’ for allowing criminals to take over the city.
Lieutenant Jessica Taylor, who served in the Seattle Police Department for 23 years, handed in her notice – but instead of filling out a mandatory exit survey, she decided to write a long letter addressed to the police chief.
In her own savage words, she told Chief Adrian Diaz why she made decision to retire in an ‘unfiltered, raw, and unapologetic’ 15-page rant.
Taylor did not mince her words – and attacked nearly every facet of law enforcement within the city, slamming them for completely failing the general public.
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Taylor also took a jab at the Seattle City Council – calling the institution ‘absurd,’ before describing the Mayor as ‘spineless,’ and bashing ‘the leniency of the prosecutor’s office.’
On top of that, she knocked the Police Chief’s ‘failed leadership’ that ‘accelerated this city’s downhill slide straight to rock bottom.’
She told Diaz: ‘You willingly became a puppet, a spineless “yes man,” perfectly willing to throw the entire department under the bus to achieve your coveted spot as chief, complete with a fancy corner office.
‘Your approach reeks of a desperate hunger for control rather than genuine understanding and respect for the autonomy of our officers.
She also accused the chief of bullying and gaslighting, among other things.
But she doesn’t lay all the problems in the city at Diaz’s feet. Oh no, it seems she recognizes that for all his failings, he’s also a symptom of the deeper problems in Seattle.
No, she also blames local officials.
Turning her attention to Seattle, she said the city is ‘a playground for anarchists and criminals’ who have overrun the city – and those in charge ‘seem utterly unconcerned with the devastating consequences of their actions.’
Seattle, in Taylor’s words, has become the laughingstock of the whole world.
She added: ‘People are getting hurt and killed in this city, left and right.
‘I bet most of the citizens of Seattle would love to be able to walk outside at night or mosey into downtown Seattle and not be afraid.
‘But they can’t, and that’s your fault. You’ve failed them. You’ve failed us.’
This was after the city council failed to pass a measure that would allow for the prosecution of public drug use. It also comes just a few years after the CHAZ/CHOP fiasco where a sizeable chunk of Seattle was basically government-free.
It seems pretty obvious that Taylor was fed up. If her retirement was simply a case of “enough is enough” or not isn’t clear from this report, but I wouldn’t doubt it.
The department declined to respond to Taylor’s letter but stated that they’re working with partners to restore the department to its full complement of 1,400 officers.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to do much. Not if Taylor’s accusations are correct.
After all, good leadership is essential to a properly functioning department while Taylor accuses the leadership of being anything but, including asking whether Diaz actually used his badge to gain admission to a Taylor Swift concert where tickets cost around $1,000 each.
I’m pretty sure no other cop in Seattle would have gotten away with that.
With that kind of “leadership,” the city of Seattle is going to have a rough time righting the listing ship. Especially as groups like Antifa can operate in the city with relative impunity.
Taylor’s letter raises questions, and if Seattle wants to deal with their own issues, local officials need to listen, even if doing so is uncomfortable.
