'This is how we get better.' Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell defends his decision to dismiss Police Chief Adrian Diaz

Barely 24 hours after publicly announcing his decision to dismiss Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz, Mayor Bruce Harrell spoke to Soundside's Libby Denkmann about why that was the right move for a department plagued by lawsuits and accusations that it was a "good old boys' club" — among other things.

"This is how we get better," Harrell said.

But will it be enough to change the dynamic at SPD, especially with Diaz still at the department?

Diaz will remain at the police department in another role, which Harrell has not yet determined but is calling "special projects."

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When pressed on what that might entail — and whether Diaz might return to a command role down the line — Harrell remained vague.

"That's a fair question. I don't think that's the path we're heading," Harrell said with regard to Diaz's potential return to leadership. "But I certainly didn't have a discussion with him to say, 'Oh, by the way, Chief Diaz, you will never be in a command position again.'"

As for why Diaz still has a job with the department, Harrell cited the long career his "friend" has had with SPD.

"A 27-year career. I don't think that it's appropriate or fair just to discharge him," Harrell told Soundside. "He still has a lot of talent. And so, the question for me is: How can I use that talent to better protect people in the city? ... I'm not in the business of humiliating anybody."

Harrell sidestepped a question about whether his friendship with Diaz was the reason he still had a job.

"I have a lot of friends," he said. "I do not make business decisions based on affiliation. That's a dangerous practice."

Still, that may rankle officers at the department who have raised concerns about Diaz.

Seven officers have filed lawsuits against SPD and Diaz, specifically; an eighth officer has sued the department but not Diaz, albeit while he was chief. The latest suit filed by Captain Eric Greening alleged Diaz discriminated against women and people of color.

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Former assistant chief Deanna Nollette sued in January, alleging Diaz "has a history of misogyny." Ten female officers also spoke to KUOW in March about alleged sexism and harassment at the department; five of the women spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

Diaz and the department under his leadership have been dogged by complaints for months. Harrell acknowledged as much during a press conference on Wednesday. He said the lawsuits had become a distraction for the now former chief.

RELATED: 10 female cops speak out about sexism, harassment within the Seattle Police Department

While speaking with Soundside, though, Harrell declined to cite any particular incident as the final straw.

"There was not one epiphany that I will concede, even though we are under litigation," he said, though he acknowledged the department could "greatly improve" on gender equity.

That task now falls to former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr — at least, in part and in her time as interim chief. Rahr acknowledged as much during Wednesday's press conference, when Harrell turned the department's leadership role over to her.

"I hope that we are able to work together as a team to make Seattle Police Department the most attractive department for women to come to work," she said.

Harrell described her as a "superstar," one he's now trusting to set SPD down a smoother path.

"She has an opportunity to put into practice some of the things she's been lecturing about, about how to specifically recruit women, how to look at the systems in place to retain the women in the department that we have," Harrell told Soundside. "Again, I want to take full advantage of this opportunity to improve our department, from the culture to the actual hiring of women statistically."

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Rahr has already said she will not be applying to keep the chief job, though. That means Harrell will have to find a successor to continue that work when she's done with the interim work. He said he wants the next chief to "play to win."

"I don't want to department is plagued with litigation," he said. "I believe that most litigation can be prevented. So, I want this person to come in and look at a litigation-prevention strategy and recruit women and really take us to the next level. I want an unrelenting commitment to keep people safe, that they just wake up almost obsessed with making sure everyone is safe regardless of their age or demographic or how they identify."

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The next chief will have to gain the trust of rank-and-file officers, too, of course.

"We have to look at progress as building blocks. Chief Diaz was a great building block to get us to where we need to be," Harrell said when asked to reflect on the lessons he'd learned. He preferred to frame this moment as what was necessary "to get us to the next level."

"We make decisions because we want excellence in all our departments here," he said. "That's how we run the city."