Seattle's police chief stepping down after City Council votes to trim department, sources say

Seattle's Police Chief Carmen Best is stepping down, multiple sources tell the CBS affiliate there, KIRO-TV. One source calls the development "devastating."

The move came to light made the same day the City Council approved reducing the department's ranks by as many as 100 officers through layoffs and attrition, note's KIRO's Gary Horcher:

Cuts to the department have been supported by demonstrators who have marched in the city following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis but strongly opposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan and Best.

Best, the city's first Black police chief, said in a Monday evening email to the department obtained by KIRO that her "retirement" will be effective Sept. 2 and that Durkan has appointed Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz as the interim chief. Council members had approved the cuts Monday.

"I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times," Best said in the email. "You truly are the best police department in the country, and please trust me when I say, the vast majority of people in Seattle support you and appreciate you. ... I look forward to seeing how this department moves forward through the process of re-envisioning public safety. I relish the work that will be done by all of you."

In an email to police sent shortly after Best's message, also obtained by KIRO, Durkan said she accepted Best's decision "with a very heavy heart."

"I regret deeply that she concluded that the best way to serve the city and help the department was a change in leadership, in the hope that would change the dynamics to move forward with the City Council," Durkan wrote.

Durkan and Best planned a Tuesday morning news conference.