In a press conference Friday, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz announced the formation of a new task force aimed to reduce violence within the city of Seattle.
Diaz said he has been working with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell to ensure the Seattle Police Department makes the city safe.
“And like everyone in our city,” Diaz said, “I’m deeply concerned about the recent increase in gun violence.”
Friday morning four people were shot in two different shootings around Seattle, and a pregnant woman was shot and killed in Belltown in the middle of the day on Tuesday.
Diaz said he understands that people that live and work in Seattle fear for their safety.
“And it is unacceptable that innocent lives are lost due to senseless acts of violence,” Diaz said.
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/06-17-2023/t_83029bbc72eb43548a4437f4ed489498_name_file_1920x1080_1200_v3_1_.jpg)
As a result of these recent violent acts, Diaz announced the formation of the Community Violence Task Force.
“I want the people to know we are committed to taking action,” Diaz said.
Diaz said that he was speaking across his department, including regional and federal partners because “violence isn’t in just Seattle, but events outside of Seattle can and do affect us.”
The task force will help “stem the tide of gun violence” which tends to increase over the Summer months, Diaz said.
Officers and detectives throughout the department will be a part of this new task force and specialty units will be rerouted to four problem areas of the city: Aurora, Central District, South End, and Downtown.
The task force will work to identify individuals who are “harming our community,” Diaz said.
Diaz said Seattle police will be increasing their visibility in areas where violence has been “widespread.”
“Men or women, if you are selling drugs and are committing crimes with a gun, Seattle police are coming for you,” Diaz said. “We will arrest you and hold your accountable.”
The task force will consist of 50 to 60 officers, but will be difficult due to staffing, Diaz added.
Diaz hopes to have the task force up and running by “next weekend,” which would be the beginning of July.
©2023 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7OQ4JR7U7RGW7GYASBKDVE2LE4.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/EQFLTTW5ERC2XEYH2RZMTLSI3A.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/WT5OX3M4DBAVDK2VKSM6HDKDUA.jpeg)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/11-14-2024/t_6a92c270d621499981a2f48bbe76a60b_name_Picture1.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/2ZXDSLZMNNGLZF32GMCEFEXKWQ.jpg)