Mounting Calls For Seattle Police Union President To Resign

SEATTLE — Several city council members have joined a growing public call for the removal of the Seattle Police Officers Guild president following his remarks about mob violence in the nation's capital on Jan. 6.

Officer Mike Solan was elected as the police union's president in early 2020, with strong support among his colleagues after pledging to fight against anti-police sentiment and Seattle's "activist narrative." In the months since, Solan has frequently made inflammatory posts and sparred with detractors on Twitter.

Mounting calls for his resignation or removal follow tweets posted in the wake of the riots in D.C., where Solan suggested Black Lives Matter activists played a role in the violence at the Capitol.

"As the #MSM point to one group as being the culprits, clearly evidence also shows another group w/ a history of riotous criminal actions," Solan wrote in one tweet. "Political violence on all sides should be condemned."

Solan's remarks sparked quick blowback, including from Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Labor Council, which voted to expel the police union in June.

Wholly agree with Scott Lindsay! BLM was not the cause of yesterday’s insurrection. We have to tell the truth. https://t.co/UrmnNQDAJe
— Chief Carmen Best (Ret.) (@carmenbest) January 9, 2021

SPOG President Mike Solan’s comments on the right-wing mob are out of line & an affront to those fighting for racial justice. This is part of a pattern of behavior that shows Solan is more interested in building his public profile than representing his members. He should resign.
— MLK Labor (@MLKLabor) January 9, 2021

By Monday morning, at least seven members of the Seattle City Council called for Solan's resignation as union president, with Councilmembers Lewis and Sawant going further to say he should also resign from the police department.

Mike Solan, reactionary president of Seattle Police Officers Guild, disgustingly speculated it might be Black Lives Matter or left-wing protesters responsible for the actions of the far-right mob in DC. Solan needs to resign immediately from the police department and the guild.
— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) January 11, 2021

SPOG President Mike Solan should resign from his union post and SPD, and if he refuses his guild should eject him. To peddle in conspiracy theories regarding the white nationalist mob that invaded the Capitol and murdered a police officer is a colossal breach of his duty. https://t.co/NFGTuXPCDG
— Andrew J. Lewis (@LewisforSeattle) January 9, 2021

The Seattle Times reports the Office of Police Accountability will open an investigation into the tweets to probe for potential violations of department policy.

Investigation continues into Seattle officers pictured in D.C.

Late Friday, interim Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz announced that he placed two officers on administrative leave after reports they were in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. On Monday, Diaz provided a few more details, including that a fellow officer flagged photos on social media that showed "several SPD officers apparently in Washington, D.C., the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol building." The police department has not publicly identified either officer.

Diaz said he shared the photos with the OPA Thursday night, and an investigation began Friday to "determine if they did or did not participate in the violent events or any violations of federal law."

Diaz continued:

"I did this considering that participating in a political event on their own time, out of uniform, violates no policy or law. I do not want to limit anyone’s ability to lawfully participate in First Amendment activities.

The large number of people who forced their way into the Capitol, connected to the earlier political rally, presented too much of an unknown about whether any of our employees had potentially violated federal law. That is why I had to act.

Given the seriousness of what took place – out of an abundance of caution, I asked OPA to conduct an investigation.

If OPA finds any evidence any officers were directly involved, they will be fired and the information will be shared with federal officials.

I made it very clear when I assumed this position, that any violation of community trust or any action that threatens our ability to serve this city will be met with full accountability.

We cannot violate the same laws we are sworn to protect."

Seattle's Community Police Commission, one of the city's three accountability branches, published a statement Monday afternoon addressing both Solan's social media remarks and the news of the two officers.

It reads in part:

"We are outraged both by the potential participation of Seattle Police Department officers in this violent riot and by the comments made by officer Mike Solan. These actions only serve to further diminish the trust the community has in its police force.

Today, the Community Police Commission (CPC) is exercising our authority under the landmark 2017 Accountability Ordinance to request all internal communications sent within the Seattle Police Department regarding this attempted coup. Our goal is to look into the systemic issues that may be in operation and review policies that may need to be changed in order to address the systemic problems that gave rise to these events. We have requested all of those documents be sent to us as soon as possible, but no later than January 22, 2021."