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Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz speaks at a news conference at police headquarters in October. A mountain of legal action taken against Diaz has brought his leadership into question. (Luke Johnson / The Seattle Times, 2023)
A Seattle police captain sued Chief Adrian Diaz on Monday, alleging he retaliated when the captain reported discriminatory practices, bringing the total number of officers alleging discrimination and taking legal action against the department up to seven.
According to the civil complaint filed in King County Superior Court, 30-year veteran of the department Eric Greening alleges Diaz retaliated against him when Greening brought up concerns about discrimination. Diaz allegedly rejected his bid to reapply to be an assistant chief, demoted him and abolished the Collaborative Policing Bureau he led.
Greening, who is Black, is the sixth Seattle Police Department employee to file a claim against Diaz alleging discrimination in recent months. The department faces another claim from a retired officer who said she endured decades of discrimination while working for the department.
Last month, four female employees filed a tort claim for $5 million, alleging sexual discrimination and harassment by Diaz and other department leaders. In January, Deanna Nollette, assistant chief over criminal investigations, filed a lawsuit alleging Diaz has a history of misogyny and retaliated against her for applying for chief. And in November, Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin filed a lawsuit alleging she faced daily racism and gender discrimination during her 43 years with SPD.
The mountain of legal action taken against Diaz has brought his leadership into question. Diaz’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. A spokesperson for the city declined to comment, saying the city has not been served with the complaint and can’t comment on pending litigation.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced last month he would hire an outside investigator to look into claims of gender discrimination and harassment after the $5 million claim was filed.
In a Cascade PBS interview this month, Harrell said Diaz was “being evaluated” regarding his commitment toward equity in the department.
“He has a history with the department and he’s done some magnificent work,” Harrell told PBS. “But for me, I have a certain standard of excellence that I’m held to, that I hold myself to every single day … So the question for me is, is he meeting that mark? And that is a process I’m going through right now.”
Greening has served in the department as assistant chief, the operations center commander, and has led a patrol staff of about 700 sworn officers as assistant chief of the Police Patrol Operations Bureau. He has served intermittently as acting chief during the chief’s absences.
From 2020 to 2023, Greening was the only Black person on the command staff, according to the claim. In 2021, Diaz, who is Hispanic, assigned Greening to sponsor the department’s Race and Social Justice Initiative Change Team in addition to his assistant chief role. He was also assigned to the Collaborative Policing Bureau.
In those roles, the lawsuit says, Greening was responsible for raising concerns about racism and gender bias to Diaz. Greening alleges Diaz later retaliated against him, including demoting him, for bringing up those concerns.
“The retaliatory actions of [the city of Seattle and Diaz] have harmed Mr. Greening’s reputation as a police officer,” stated the lawsuit. “He has suffered shame and embarrassment because of his demotion as well as harm to his future job prospects and standing in the community.”
In one meeting, Greening discussed a concern that women of color were primarily responsible for community outreach and there appeared to be segregation within the department, according to the lawsuit.
In 2021, Greening was interviewed as part of the investigation into a discrimination complaint by Capt. Steve Hirjak, who is Asian American. Hirjak accused Diaz of unfairly blaming him for the infamous “pink umbrella incident” during 2020’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Hirjak alleged Diaz made him a scapegoat for a viral, recorded incident of an officer’s tug of war with a demonstrator over a pink umbrella. Hirjak settled his case in December, and the lawsuit states Greening found Diaz offered less support to Hirjak than to white officers.
During a January 2022 meeting with the chief, Greening reported several concerns he had, according to the lawsuit: that Diaz treated Greening differently from other assistant chiefs, despite his significant experience; that Diaz circumvented Black supervisors to make requests directly of their subordinates; that white lieutenants similarly circumvented the Collaborative Policing Bureau leadership, made up of people of color; and that Diaz took counsel from only the white men in command staff, leaving two women assistant chiefs and Greening as the “out group.”
At the meeting, Greening allegedly gave Diaz a copy of the Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization, and Diaz responded by saying something along the lines of “I can’t fix all of this,” according to the lawsuit.
Greening also reported concerns about Diaz making personal assignments based on race and gender — including his role on the race and social justice team making him, the only Black member of the command staff, responsible for all race-related issues, according to the lawsuit. Greening in January requested Diaz release him from the role.
When SPD began a nationwide searching for a new deputy chief and assistant chief, Greening was denied a promotion over Eric Barden, a white man. When Greening reapplied for his own role as assistant chief — as all command staff members were required to — Diaz only gave him a “perfunctory” interview before demoting him to captain. His salary subsequently decreased ove$25,000.
Greening was one of Harrell’s three finalists with Diaz in a national search for the permanent chief role in 2022.
After demoting Greening, Diaz allegedly abolished the Collaborative Policing Bureau and moved Greening to the Force Review Unit, a position that oversees fewer than 10 staff members and involves no direct contact with the public.
In September, Greening filed an ongoing claim with Seattle’s Office of Inspector General, and he met with Seattle’s Office of Employee Ombud throughout 2022 and 2023. He is now suing for financial compensation and emotional distress.
“He feels humiliated,” Monday’s lawsuit stated. “He is frustrated and distracted at home. He experiences stress individually and within his family. He has trouble sleeping. Defendants’ conduct weighs on him, and he worries about further retaliation. He is anxious and finds it difficult to enjoy life.”
Source:Seattle Times