Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell sits down one on one with KIRO 7

SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell sat down one on one with KIRO 7′s Jake Chapman discussing a wide array of topics from the uptick in recent gun violence throughout the city to former Seattle Police Chief coming out as gay on Monday.

On the discussion of gun violence, Mayor Harrell says this is a problem in every major city in the United States and he is tired of it.

“A bullet going through a bystander’s house or a resident’s house. So, no…I don’t want anyone to be numb to it. I want them to hold everyone accountable. Our administration, state legislators, our federal government, our country. I take this extremely seriously,” Mayor Harrell said.

Mayor Harrell announced an Executive Order last week where the city would invest $10 million in youth violence prevention. He says that money comes from the $20 million the council approved in 2023 amid the Ingraham High School shooting.

The city informs KIRO 7 that the City Council still has to approve how the $10 million will be spent on this issue.

“There’s no amount of money that I put a price tag on to save someone’s life,” Mayor Harrell said.

We also discussed with Mayor Harrell about his former chief coming out as well. Diaz said in his interview on Monday he came out to the mayor back in February. Mayor Harrell confirmed that information with us and he continues to offer Diaz support.

“This is part of his personal journey. It’s a decision he made, and I try to support any person that is making life changing decisions,” Mayor Harrell said.

We also asked Mayor Harrell about some of the other claims that Diaz made in his interview such as the allegations against him are false and that Mayor Harrell believed they were as well. Mayor Harrell says he wasn’t shocked by Diaz coming out, but he wasn’t able to directly comment when it comes to the ongoing litigations against Diaz. Mayor Harrell says while he continues his support for the former chief, he hopes the city of Seattle can continue forward.

“What I am trying to do now is move forward and look for another chief of police and looking at how that search looks,” Mayor Harrell said.

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