Almost a year after being demoted as Seattle’s police chief, Adrian Diaz has launched a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city and Mayor Bruce Harrell.
Filed in King County Superior Court on Wednesday, Diaz’s lawsuit alleges retaliation and claims his career was destroyed after he refused to comply with an alleged order from Harrell to perform an unlawful act by prematurely firing an officer without due process.
A spokesperson for Mayor Harrell commented on the situation, stating, “We don’t typically comment on active litigation; however, in this case we will say: When all we had was rumor and innuendo regarding Adrian Diaz, we took him at his word. After we received the facts from an independent investigation, he was terminated for dishonesty.”
The spokesperson expressed confidence that the litigation process would reveal the truth behind the matter.
Unlike a previous $10 million tort claim Diaz filed last fall—which included allegations of discrimination based on his sexual orientation—the new lawsuit does not present such claims. Diaz publicly came out as gay following his termination, stating he faced discrimination from both Harrell and Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess after his revelation.
The recent lawsuit focuses on Diaz’s refusal to fire Officer Daniel Auderer, who was recorded making inappropriate comments about the tragic death of a pedestrian, Jaahnavi Kandula, struck by a police cruiser in 2023. Diaz claims that the subsequent investigation into rumors about an alleged romantic relationship between him and his female Chief of Staff, Jamie Tompkins, was retaliatory and flawed.
According to Diaz, Deputy Mayor Burgess pressured him not to place Auderer on administrative leave due to ongoing contract negotiations with the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
The lawsuit states, “Chief Diaz was essentially stuck in the middle of Deputy Mayor Burgess’s administrative goals of successfully negotiating the SPOG contract and Mayor Harrell’s political goals of responding to community outcry for swift and firm justice.”
Diaz argued throughout the internal conflict that the Seattle Police Department was obligated to provide due process for its officers and to follow the relevant contracts and ordinances.
In December, an independent investigation into Diaz’s conduct concluded that there were indications of a romantic relationship between him and Tompkins, who has since resigned and filed her own $3 million claim against the city for alleged sexual harassment during her tenure at SPD. Both Diaz and Tompkins have denied any romantic involvement.
The city’s investigation cited a handwritten note addressed to Diaz as evidence of their concealed relationship. A handwriting analyst deemed it “highly probable” that Tompkins wrote the note; however, a second handwriting analysis commissioned by Diaz disputes this conclusion.
In a statement issued by his attorney, Diaz asserted, “While city leaders unfairly accused me of dishonesty and unprofessional conduct, there is critical evidence disproving those allegations that the city intentionally overlooked, minimized, and ignored.”
Diaz also referenced polygraph test results claiming he had been truthful to investigators.
In his letter dated December 17, 2024, explaining the decision to terminate Diaz, Mayor Harrell referred to witness accounts that suggested Diaz himself acknowledged the relationship and highlighted deviations from standard hiring practices that involved Tompkins.
Harrell stated that based on the findings of the investigation, he determined that Diaz violated several city policies concerning dishonesty, professionalism, conflicts of interest, and inappropriate personal relationships, emphasizing that dishonesty precludes one from serving the community as a law enforcement officer.
Former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, now appointed as interim chief of police to replace Diaz, refrained from making any comments regarding the lawsuit.
SPOG President Mike Solan also chose not to comment.
Additionally, earlier this month, Mayor Harrell announced that he would send his nomination for interim Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes to the city council for confirmation as the permanent chief of police.
image source from：https://www.kuow.org/stories/former-seattle-police-chief-adrian-diaz-sues-city-over-firing
