Seattle Mayor Harrell was arrested in 1996 for pulling gun during parking lot confrontation

In 1996, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell was arrested for brandishing a pistol during a late-night confrontation over a parking spot at a casino in Iowa, according to news articles and court records from the time.

This is the first time Seattle media have reported on the incident – and brought to light a two-year period of Harrell’s life that he doesn’t discuss publicly.

Harrell, who was 37 and living in nearby Omaha, Nebraska, at the time, was arrested on suspicion of three crimes, according to court records:

• “Did carry a handgun in a vehicle.” (Because Harrell did not have a concealed weapons permit.)
• “Did assault another person while armed with a handgun.” (Brandishing a weapon can be deemed aggravated assault in Iowa.)
• "Did resist a district peace officer in the lawful performance of her duties."

The three charges were dismissed five months later on a motion by the county attorney, with Harrell expected to pay court costs.

RELATED: Seattle Mayor Harrell misled officer during 1996 arrest: police report unearthed

The Omaha World-Herald wrote about the incident at least four times in 1996 and 1997. It made front-page news, accompanied with a professional headshot of Harrell.

Harrell told reporters at the time that he’d been waiting for a parking spot at a casino when a man pulled into it. Harrell had called the man “rude,” he said, and when the man approached, Harrell brandished his unloaded gun. He said a security officer from the casino later confronted Harrell and asked to search his car, and they argued about it.

Harrell’s account today softens what he told Omaha reporters in 1996.

On Tuesday, Harrell provided KUOW his version of the incident and also explained that he was the victim of racial profiling.

“While in the parking lot, we realized that there was a misunderstanding, and we amicably settled the dispute, entering the establishment together. However, I was then racially profiled by a private security officer and detained for having the gun in my car. Knowing all the facts, the prosecutor asked to drop the charges and a judge agreed,” Harrell said in a statement. (Scroll to the bottom of this story to read Harrell's full statement to KUOW.)

KUOW learned about this incident on Monday from an anonymous tipster who emailed screenshots of court records. Although the person refused to speak over the phone, or share their identity, KUOW independently confirmed the records.

Despite 15 years in public office in Seattle, as a city council member and now as mayor leading the city through a public safety crisis, these criminal charges never came to light locally.

RELATED: Mayor Harrell promises more police accountability, balanced approach to Seattle growth

Aside from two years in Omaha, Harrell has been a lifelong Seattleite. He graduated from Garfield High School at the top of his class and was a standout football star for the University of Washington Huskies. Those are well-known parts of his biography, but his time in Omaha is a blank spot in Harrell’s history.

Harrell’s LinkedIn account makes no mention of his time in Omaha, nor does material for his 2025 mayoral re-election campaign.

RELATED: Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is running for re-election in 2025

“This was a traumatic incident for the mayor, but he has spoken openly in the past over being racially profiled and how that has informed his approach to public service,” said spokesperson Jamie Housen. “The mayor has lived in Seattle for his entire life with the exception of the two years that he lived in Omaha.”

Housen said the mayor maintains his innocence, and stated that any inconsistencies between what Harrell told KUOW this week and what made news in 1996 are due to “an absence of reporting from the time.”

Housen said Harrell hired a law firm that wrote a demand letter to the casino around the time of his arrest stating that Harrell’s constitutional rights were violated due to the “unreasonable search and seizures based on racial profiling.” No lawsuit was filed and there was no monetary settlement for Harrell, Housen said, because matters were resolved amicably between both parties.

The charges against Harrell were ultimately dismissed, which Harrell implied meant he was innocent. The court docket shows no plea bargain was entered, which Harrell confirmed.

A records request from the Pottawattamie County court clerk resulted in a bare-bones, four-page document, the only records the court said it has for the case. As one Pottawattamie County Attorney representative explained, it was common in 1996 not to write much down unless there was a court reporter in attendance taking notes.

Records show that Harrell and his wife Joanne moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1995 so that she could take a position as vice president of US West Communications. Harrell joined Kutak Rock law firm as an attorney. At the time of the parking spot incident, the Harrells had lived in Nebraska for a year.

Trouble started when the Omaha mayor appointed Harrell to the board of the Omaha Housing Authority. Some constituents were unhappy, according to the Omaha World-Herald, because they wanted a public housing tenant on the board.

Harrell told an Omaha reporter that he had received five death threats within hours of being appointed in September 1996. He said he received a “barrage of phone calls,” many of them “less than pleasant.”

At 8 p.m. that night, he made the decision to withdraw his bid to be on the board.

Later that night, according to the World-Herald, Harrell and a friend who was in town from Seattle went out to Ameristar casino in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa. Harrell told the reporter that he’d brought his firearm because he had received death threats earlier in the day. Carrying a firearm without a concealed weapons permit was against the law in Iowa at the time.

Harrell told authorities that he was waiting to pull into a parking spot when another car took the space, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Harrell told a reporter that he called the man “rude.” When the man started walking toward him, Harrell grabbed his gun so the man could see it. Harrell said he’d mistakenly believed the man was someone who had threatened him over the housing authority board seat earlier that day.

After the incident, the chairman of Harrell’s former employer in Omaha wrote a memo about what happened for other staffers. Harrell’s office provided that document to KUOW.

The chairman said that Harrell believed a car was following him to the casino from Omaha. It was a nine-minute drive from the bar in Omaha where Harrell and his friend had been, to the casino across the state border in Iowa.

Harrell told KUOW this week that he had not pointed the gun at the man, echoing accounts he gave in 1996.

Harrell argued with security officials about searching his car. Officials prevailed and found a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a clip partially filled with ammunition.

Harrell was arrested on the spot. He posted a $3,340 bond later that Friday, according to the Omaha World-Herald. His attorney appeared for him in court the next week.

The Harrells left Omaha a year later.

Read Mayor Bruce Harrell's full statement about the incident to KUOW below: