Calls for SPOG president to resign after his tweet appears to blame BLM for riot at Capitol

SEATTLE — Scott Lindsay, who was the safety adviser for Seattle’s last mayor, and retired Police Chief Carmen Best are among some who are calling for Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan to apologize or resign after his tweet appears to blame Black Lives Matter for the riot at our nation’s Capitol on Wednesday.

Lindsay stated in part in a tweet on Friday afternoon: “As someone who has fought for police reform and defended Seattle Police against defunding, I have a duty to call out when the head of their union spreads misinformation about the Capitol attack.”

He said Solan should apologize or resign. Solan on Friday night replied to Lindsay’s tweet:

Best retweeted Lindsay’s tweet with the statement below:

“Wholly agree with Scott Lindsay! BLM was not the cause of yesterday’s insurrection. We have to tell the truth,” Best wrote.

A spokesperson from the Seattle Mayor’s Office sent out a statement on Friday night regarding Solan:

“The SPOG President’s statement is wrong, immoral, and a lie. The violent and seditious actions we all witnessed were done by anti-government mobs, inspired and directed by President Trump and his legion of enablers. His statements do a huge disservice to the hundreds of police officers who work daily to serve the public and the rule of law, believe in equality, and were disgusted by Wednesday’s events.

“His statements do not reflect the values of the City of Seattle but instead echo the failed lies of a failed presidency. In fact, every officer at the Seattle Police Department has an obligation to not “post-speech that negatively impacts the Department’s ability to serve the public.”

“As we expect this incident to be investigated by OPA, Solan should retract his statements and apologize or resign.”

The controversy surrounding the head of SPOG comes as the Seattle Police Department announced Friday night that it was made aware that at least two of its officers were reportedly in Washington, D.C., on the day of the riot.

Chief Adrian Diaz said that the Office of Police Accountability will review the officers’ activities at the U.S. Capitol on that day to determine if they violated any SPD policies and “if any potential illegal activities need to be referred for criminal investigation.”

“If any SPD officers were directly involved in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, I will immediately terminate them. While OPA investigates, these officers have been placed on administrative leave,” Diaz said.

He also said the department supports all lawful expressions of the First Amendment but the violent events that unfolded “were unlawful and resulted in the death of another police officer.”

On Sunday, Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County demanded the Diaz immediately fire any officers who participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and called for Solan’s resignation.

“Guild President Solan is incapable and unwilling to do the work that needs to be done to dismantle racism in the union,” BLM Seattle said. “His leadership perpetuates the problem rather than addressing it. He must resign.”

Cox Media Group