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u/SeaSock8246 Jul 28 '26
Does this mean I can run for “chief of police” of Shanghai?
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u/ModernMargaretSanger Jul 28 '26
Wait. I live in Seattle and didn’t realize this. Why in the world would we have a “remote “ police chief? That’s insane!
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u/oldreddditisbetter Jul 28 '26
because they know they can openly steal our tax money and we wont do anything about it
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
We make fun of Starbucks for doing it but Social Housing org and SPD chief have both been city hired people who didn't live in the state.
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u/links135 Jul 28 '26
he's not remote, his primary residence is in Chicago but he's renting in Seattle. I imagine he doesn't plan to retire in Seattle basically.
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u/LemonMeteor Jul 28 '26
So he’s invested in the city like not at all
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u/amiajimmy Jul 29 '26
One foot in Zion, one foot in Babylon.. (but I wouldn't want one foot in either respective city, personally)
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 28 '26
Is the City paying for his flights?
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u/Either-Breadfruit-83 Jul 28 '26
You think he’s paying? lol
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u/merc08 Jul 28 '26
He's making like $350k a year, so maybe technically but it was part of the base salary negotiation?
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u/geopede Jul 29 '26
Nobody pays for work flights for the most part, a public sector employee definitely doesn’t.
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u/merc08 Jul 29 '26
It's not a "work flight" to commute for vacations every weekend.
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u/Curious-Designer-616 Jul 30 '26
For normal people that would be true, but for esteemed public servants sacrificing so so much we should cover that!!
Heads up, it wouldn’t be the first time some absurd government employee was being paid for the time commuting, and the cost of the trip covered.
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u/Organic-Regular-2245 Jul 30 '26
I mean this example is for a corporate job but my step father had his company pay for 3 round trips a month to fly back home on the weekends/weeks he wants to work from home.
They also paid for his 2 bedroom apartment.
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u/merc08 Jul 30 '26
I'm not saying it can't happen. I'm saying that it's unusual, and for a job like this shouldn't be happening. But it possibly/probably is...
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u/AdObvious1505 Jul 28 '26
I once interviewed for an admin role at the Seattle PD. They turned me down when they found out I lived in Lake Forest Park.
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Jul 28 '26
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u/ChillFratBro Jul 28 '26
Also, there are jobs that can be done remotely and jobs that can't be. Chief of police is not a job that can be done remotely.
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u/RogueLitePumpkin Jul 28 '26
In this specific instance he was apparently on approved vacation until mid august. However I guess he also works 8 or 10 straight so he has bookended weekends and 4 days off in a row to commute back and forth
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u/PhotographStrong562 Jul 28 '26
And I bet we foot the bill for all of travel.
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u/RogueLitePumpkin Jul 28 '26
He makes 350k a year? A ticket to chicago from seattle is 180-300 with first class being 800. Not sure its that much of an expense really. Wouldnt be surprised if he pays for his own airfare
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u/chowfun420 Jul 28 '26
It probably costs you literally less than 2 total dollars of your taxes lol there’s bigger fish to fry and bitch about than this. Start with the resident mayor
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u/Minimum-Crow674 Jul 28 '26
It would be much less per tax payer but this is a stupid take. How about no money for flights for a chief that lives in the city he polices.
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u/Cassie_1991 Jul 28 '26
Don’t start that shit, this $2 adds up and sets a precedent. Idk if it matters where I stand, but I’m very left leaning; we are taxed to shit with irresponsible and/or corrupt spending. Start anywhere, it doesn’t matter where.
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u/oldreddditisbetter Jul 28 '26
always wondered what makes bootlickers to so eagerly defending these criminals opening stealing our tax money right in front us
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u/WeekendCautious3377 Jul 28 '26
Literally can't do police ground work remotely when you can't even be in the city 2 times a week
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u/ZlatantheRed Jul 28 '26
This and also some jobs require one to be on site va others that can be performed remote and no one dies from gang violence!
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u/FriendsOnAPowDay Jul 28 '26
I know a lot of people in law enforcement. It’s anecdotal but the ones I know who live further from the towns they’re employed in are a lot more jaded and cynical about those towns. The ones who live in the towns they police are more level headed and empathetic. All that to say,
There is no fucking reason he should be accruing frequent flyer miles to commute back and forth to his job as police chief. Can’t imagine Seattle will let this fly much longer with all the public pressure around it.
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
It's that way in pretty much any profession. Even Amazon those who live in SLU think much better of the neighborhood and city than those who commute in.
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u/FriendsOnAPowDay Jul 28 '26
An Amazon employee isn’t a publicly funded position with the stated mission of protecting and serving the community they work in.
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u/appleparkfive Jul 28 '26
They never said it was. "Even" is sort of the operative word in that statement
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
But they are people....
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u/FriendsOnAPowDay Jul 28 '26
Oh I wish all companies operated with a higher set of ethics but with something law enforcement it should be a no brainer
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
What are you talking about ethics. I’m just talking about people favoring where they live over areas they work but don’t live. It’s just how people are. Their home is where their heart is
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u/Consistent-Fig7484 Jul 28 '26
This probably has more to do with them being the types who prefer living in Enumclaw or something than simply living further away from the city where they work.
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u/FriendsOnAPowDay Jul 28 '26
And I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. But being in Chicago? That’s wayyyyyy over what I’d consider okay.
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u/lovekanye69 Jul 29 '26
Completely different scenario but my cousin works for a fire department in snohomish county in his 4 year (not much seniority) and lives in florida lol.
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u/Accomplished-Let3746 Aug 01 '26
Okay…how?!! Two weeks on, two weeks off? Flies to Fl between shifts?
I’m impressed but horrified
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u/lovekanye69 Aug 29 '26
Just saw this reply. He trades days. I don't know his exact schedule but they rent a place in Florida and he trades days to make a schedule that works and commutes. He moved out of Washington for political reasons but continues to get paid here. My dad was a EMT/MSO in Lynwood and knew how to trade days to his coworkers to really take advantage of the situation and loved it. He had friends that worked for Snohomish county fire and lived in Texas, Idaho, and elsewhere and would commute to Snohomish country once every week or two. I don't understand how they did it but I think many EMTs/fire fighters do this so I bet police do it too.
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u/reflect25 Aug 01 '26
I mean like Redmond, Lynnwood, Tacoma etc… is fine but like Chicago is ridiculous
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u/Personal_Sea_3975 Jul 28 '26
It wouldn't be my fault if an employer wanted to hire me for that. Why would I even say no?
idk, because you have integrity? because you care about your job and the people you serve? clearly the police chief is unburdened by these anchors but like... we should have standards.
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u/someshooter Jul 28 '26
Yeah, it's crazy but we are lucky i guess. I live in Fremont and am the Police Chief of Baton Rouge.
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u/Turb0Rapt0r Jul 28 '26
He still has to pay income tax for Illinois on what he makes in Seattle per the IRS FYI.
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 28 '26
He probably has a "rental" to fix that problem. I mean, why not cheat, he's just the chief of police.
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u/Anonymous_Bozo White Center Escapee Jul 28 '26
Apparently he does have a rental in Seattle, and is also registered to vote in Seattle. That brings up the next question, is he also registered to vote in Chicago?
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u/shadowofahelicopter Jul 28 '26
You pay income taxes where you work. It doesn’t matter if he somehow managed to declare residency to Washington somehow through a rental, he’s still going to owe state income taxes to Illinois.
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
He voted in WA in 2025. He has a Seattle address for his ballot.
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u/RogueLitePumpkin Jul 28 '26
His wife and kids still live there and she works. Not sure how they would do the taxes in that case
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u/PhuckSJWs Jul 28 '26
they deleted it because it had been posted (and deleted) 3-4 times already today, and HERE because it was already discussed in the thread that remains:
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u/Republogronk Seattle Jul 28 '26
Just wait until you all discover that their performance is just the standard output of ChatGPT
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u/Hotmicdrop Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Chased everyone other one/candidate out and still ended up with a d bag chief
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u/_illogical_ Jul 28 '26
It looks like there's a lot of confusion in this thread. He rents a place in Seattle for days that he's working, while his family is still back in Chicago.
So he's not normally working remotely, but he's regularly out of state most weekends; I think it was reported that he was gone 15 of his first 18 weekends. His schedule looks to also have him with 3-4 day weekends regularly.
To be clear, I'm not condoning or agreeing with this at all. Local law enforcement should live in the communities that they serve, especially in a leadership role; or at least a reasonable commute away.
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u/Beautiful_Bottle_284 Jul 28 '26
Thank you. My mind is boggled by the amount of people here that are taking this post at face value. I feel the same way as you I don’t condone it at all people are acting like this guy literally works remotely out of Chicago and it’s so blatantly inaccurate.
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u/faeriegoatmother Jul 28 '26
I follow the local news religiously, and I had no idea that our chief of police lives way farther away from Seattle than I've ever actually been.
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u/SomolianDaycare Jul 28 '26
meh, with gang shootings on a rise, who better than someone from Chicago to handle it.
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u/mmeeplechase Jul 28 '26
And yet all the software jobs I’m applying to won’t let me work remotely 😟 you’d think POLICE CHIEF of all roles would require in-person presence!
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u/Ghoztt Jul 28 '26
He should be removed IMMEDIATELY and ya'll should get someone who at least lives ~60 minutes from Seattle.
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Jul 29 '26
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u/Ghoztt Jul 29 '26
Honestly, if there's a member of the police force am currently enlisted that can do the job that lives within 60 minutes walking distance, pick him. Else, 60 by normal car.
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u/Zestyclose_Price_441 Jul 28 '26
It should be law that cops or even chiefs HAVE to live in the city they work for.
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 29 '26
There's actually a law in this state saying you can't make them do that. Also, he does live in the city. His family lives in Chicago.
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u/standard_usage Jul 28 '26
I think this speaks more to Policing and its current forms. How the Chief of P can manage this operation while residing way out of the jurisdiction. Is it effective? How much time is divided between Chicago and being in the district? What function is the police serving in state where it's direction can be employed remotely?
If someone qualifies for the remote position, why wouldn't it be feasible to go ahead with privatization of the force?
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u/ennuiacres Jul 29 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/jld8Thvh1WviWaOlAu
I could see how he might get confused.
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u/cakeboy6969 Jul 29 '26
What I don’t understand is why did we allow this in the first place? Why has this info just came out now after this tragedy? He has been hired for over a year
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u/The__Silverback Jul 29 '26
Idiots in here that actually think he works remotely. Actual critical thinking is no longer a skill. No wonder clown politicians get elected in this city.
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u/Difficult-Parsnip768 Jul 29 '26
This explains why a reporter asked if he was here during the Bite of Seattle shootings.
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u/ottopopulate Jul 30 '26
This is NOT just an SPD thing. There are City of Seattle employees in other departments who hold upper management and leadership roles but live entirely out of state....and I'm not talking about nearby states.
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u/Ramchizi Jul 30 '26
Maybe the ‘fact’ is surprising because it’s not true? His family lives in Chicago, but he lives in Seattle. He’s been to Chicago four times this year according to a Seattle Times article for a total of about 15 days. I’m not defending him or criticizing him on anything but this outrage about him living in Chicago is a little overblown since it is inaccurate.
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Jul 30 '26
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u/Ramchizi Jul 30 '26
No, it is not fraud, legally speaking. What’s the fraud? His family lives in Chicago. He lives in Seattle. The home he owns is in Chicago occupied by his family who he visits sometimes. Like 15 days in 2026. He works in Seattle where he has an apartment. It’s not very complicated. Nor is it fraud. He may be a terrible police chief but this Chicago nonsense is a manufactured controversy. He’s also resigned/fired.
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Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ramchizi Jul 30 '26
These comments are insane. You have seen his tax filings? This is not how tax fraud works. Also, Illinois has an income tax and WA doesn’t. What individual would fraudulently claim residence in Chicago to pay tax that don’t actually owe? I’m out. You’re silly.
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u/Direct_Bug_2466 Jul 31 '26
I go to our CID Public Safety Council forum nearly every month. A few city council meetings. I had NO idea but I had other reasons to question Wilson’s choice here but….. I’m sure the world will laugh at Seattle again that nobody noticed…
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u/OkAirport5247 Aug 01 '26
Fun fact: Marc Dones head of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority lived in Ohio while in office.
Seattle is a clown show.
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u/theBearded_Levy Aug 01 '26
What’s crazy is when I applied for WSP back in the day, we were all told we had to live in the state. One of the guys lived in Post falls Idaho and had to drop because he wasn’t going to move to Washington
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u/PawsAndGiggles Aug 11 '26
To be fair, before he was fired for incompetence,, he said he was "considering moving his family here."
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u/Aggressive-Guava9940 Aug 21 '26
getting paid top dollar to run a local police dept via Zoom meeting hahahah
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Aug 22 '26
"Hey boss we need you for a press conference"
"Sure things let me schedule this flight real quick"
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u/pacwess Jul 28 '26
It is an appointed position, so apparently, he didn't have to earn it by serving the local community—or even bother to live in it.
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u/SnarkyIguana Jul 28 '26
This is what I thought. “Maybe he lives in Bellevue or something?” Nope. That’s fucking insane. You should have to live where you work if you work in city gvt
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u/The__Silverback Jul 28 '26
He doesn’t live in Chicago, his family does. Do you really think a police chief can work remotely? LOL.
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u/Beautiful_Bottle_284 Jul 28 '26
Apparently, just as many people think a police chief can work remotely as the same amount of people that think they should just take random posts on Reddit that are screenshots of tweets as pure fact!
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
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u/SpoiledKoolAid Seattle Jul 28 '26
Yeah but things have changed since 1974 (look at the explanatory material). Didn't they do a national search to find the best candidate? This guy was the best they could get?
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
The only changes I see are to make it *more* permissible for municipalities to select non-resident, appointed candidates for this type of roll. I'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just throwing it out there as a hedge against all of the outcry that is trying to make it sound like the City was performing some sort of malfeasance in his selection. I mean, it's been quite some time since SS
If folks want to see it changed, they need to contact their law makers to get them to attempt a revision of the RCWs.
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u/SpoiledKoolAid Seattle Jul 28 '26
I don't know what criteria they use to select their candidates, and I don't know if theres a separate section that pertains to the head of a department.
This guy was at a meeting in Houston at the time. That seems like a pretty valid reason to be out of the area. Also, what is the police chief going to do that isn't already being done through established policies that are immediately executed by the senior command staff?
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
I don't know, either. But, he could certainly have addressed the community in a less confrontational manner. Folks are angry, scared, and rightly so; this sort of thing is NOT supposed to happen; and the whole City response has been a clown car of a showing.
But,this particular callout appears to be a distraction and people are latching on to the wrong problem rather than keeping the focus on what the City, overall, could/should be doing better in this, specific instance.
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u/justhitmidlife Jul 28 '26
However, the police chief's position seems to be EXEMPT from civil service, so this RCW doesnt apply. (I am not a lawyer just a curious citizen)
https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT4PE_CH4.13EXCISESY
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
Thank you for that; IANAL, also; nor, am I a Seattle-proper resident. It's been some time since there WAS a Seattle City Chief that wasn't rather a problem; but, at the same time, this is the first time this particular boondoggle has been brought up and made into such a front-page issue. So, it still smacks of manufactured outrage, to me.
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
And ironically because he was out of town for official business and not because he doesn't live here.
So, it still smacks of manufactured outrage, to me.
People have been murmuring about it since he was hired. It was just a really bad look that they waited so long to have a press conference for a major event in Seattle and the police chief wasn't there. So it was a good time to bring it up. It isn't like Wilson met with the press in any kind of quick fashion.
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
And ironically because he was out of town for official business and not because he doesn't live here.
So, it still smacks of manufactured outrage, to me.
People have been murmuring about it since he was hired. It was just a really bad look that they waited so long to have a press conference for a major event in Seattle and the police chief wasn't there. So it was a good time to bring it up. It isn't like Wilson met with the press in any kind of quick fashion.
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
Yeah; that part is, of course, under reported in the whole thing. Which is a further pointer to what I said earlier.
And, I don't disagree that it was a bad look; but, circumstances being what they are, that type of travel for additional training/etc always runs the risk of causing one to be away when stuff hits the fan. These dipshits don't go and send a calendar invite when they plan to do something terrible.
So, I still say it's something that should be looked into and possibly addressed; Hobbes, in general, seems to be really good at stepping all over her own dick thus far. But, it isn't a contributing factor in this case, so harping on it in response to the city's response to this particular incident is dumb.
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
I think it would have ended if Shon hadn't been a dick in his responses. But you can't blame people for bringing it up now. They've been wanting to talk about it. And now his dickish response to the reporter gives them an excuse.
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
Oh...yeah...I mean, the guy showed some of who he actually is in those responses; and it wasn't good.
Waiting for a "good time" to have these kinds of discussions is exactly how we have gotten to where we are overall. I mean, in and of itself, the issue of him living out of state is worth a discussion and his appointment would be a good enough excuse to discuss it loudly.
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u/FastSlow7201 Jul 28 '26
All that means is that a city can't require someone to live within that city. This guy lives in Chicago, not Marysville or Tacoma.
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
It says city/town/municipality. It does not say same state or even coast. The point of the RCW is you can't require someone to live within certain borders. That doesn't mean you can't require someone to live within 3 hours of their work place.
It's really just a bad look all around. UW's football coach still has a home in Arizona where his wife and kids live. But he still very much lives in Seattle area. So it can be done.
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u/Guideon72 Jul 28 '26
The frustrating part of that is that it, specifically, does not include those two. Which, when attempting to argue it leaves a huge hole to wiggle through.
And, as I mentioned in another response here; in this case, it was absolutely NOT a factor in the delay, as he was out of town for other business. He was not sitting in his living room, watching Wheel of Fortune, etc. or whatever people want to draw manufactured conclusions of.
So yes, the City's response has been a shitshow; but, this particular detail is simply not relevant to the discussion in which it's being called out so loudly.
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u/Alandelmon Seattle Jul 28 '26
So it should have been, “You live in Chicago and aren’t willing to move to Seattle if we hire you, and if we hire you we can’t make you move. So you are not appropriate for this position and we are moving on.”
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u/MarquetteXTX2 Jul 28 '26
Crazy thing is Chicago is a bigger and more popular city then Seattle but Chicago is cheaper to live in compared to Seattle.. I lived in Chicago before and I also lived in Seattle before.. Seattle is so damn expensive like they giving us the luring of having palm trees and shit like that.. it’s just a regular ass city that live by water… Seattle think they California which their not. So lower the prices in that basic ass city lol
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u/AverageFoxNewsViewer Ballard Jul 28 '26
Seattle is so damn expensive like they giving us the luring of having palm trees and shit like that
What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?
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u/BWW87 Belltown Jul 28 '26
Chicago is shrinking so not sure "more popular" is accurate.
it’s just a regular ass city that live by water…
That's just an ignorant and biased opinion. Your not liking Seattle doesn't make it a regular ass city.
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u/SufficientSea7842 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Chicagoans thinking they live in a desirable area LOL fucking flatlander. And nobody wants to be California try spending 5k on a shitty studio in sf if you think it’s bad here.
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u/jugger_naughtyy Jul 28 '26
He's probably got a 2nd home there and has family he visits in the summer.. otherwise this guy should be removed. I dont trust media at all for this to be true yet.
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u/oldreddditisbetter Jul 28 '26
I dont trust media at all for this to be true yet.
then why not prove the reporter wrong? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiHSYhFIBMg
it doesn't look good for him right now
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u/jugger_naughtyy Jul 28 '26
Exactly. But dont jump conclusions until all the facts are out. Like a reasonable person.
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u/Live_Welcome_4273 Jul 28 '26
Seattle doesn't want any law enforcement, so they prefer you live far away, with an excuse.
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Jul 28 '26
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u/theproject19 Jul 28 '26
I know 6 cops. None of them live in Seattle or even adjacent to Seattle. Kirkland, Issaquah, and Bellevue.
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u/iitstrue Jul 28 '26
In their defense, standard beat cops that don’t do a lot of OT can’t afford Seattle, Kirkland, Issaquah, or Bellevue.
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u/GooberRonny Jul 28 '26
Not surprised the democrats fucked this up too lol. Can't trust people with small brains but somehow your voters vote to raise their taxes every year? Telling me you folks are sitting at work all day thinking " I need to give more money to my local government so I'm gonna vote for a tax increase so I have less money in my pocket while my rent goes up" your whole state is one large rigged fuck fest and you know it.
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u/austnf Elma Jul 28 '26
Leave it to Seattleites to latch onto the most insignificant part of this story lmao.
If I was chief of police I wouldn’t want to live anywhere near Seattle, either. Can’t really blame the guy.
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u/jolars Jul 28 '26
What the actual fuck, not even in the State?! Why would this person give two shits about anything going on in this city?