Assistant chief with Seattle Police put on leave, reasons unclear

Updated 5:35 p.m. on 5/24/2024.

Tyrone Davis, an assistant chief for the Seattle Police Department, was put on leave Thursday, according to the police department’s communications department.

Chief Adrian Diaz sent a department-wide email saying that due to allegations sent to the police oversight agency, he had taken “the precautionary step” of putting Davis on administrative leave.

The email came as a surprise across the department, according to several who received it.

The department would not say why Davis was put on leave. The Office of Police Accountability said it received a complaint regarding Davis on May 8.

Reached Friday, Davis said he could not talk.

This is the latest setback in a department plagued nearly weekly by bad news at the top levels.

On Monday, Captain Eric Greening sued the department and Chief Diaz, alleging that Diaz discriminated against women and people of color at the department.

Greening was the third former assistant chief to accuse Diaz in lawsuits of racist and sexist behavior. Diaz demoted all three former assistant chiefs prior to their legal claims. Former Assistant Chief Steve Hirjak settled for $600,000 in 2023.

Of the eight people who have recently sued the department for workplace discrimination, three were Black, three were white, and two were Asian. None were white men.