Seattle PD chief, business leaders agree on need for fentanyl response during town hall
SEATTLE — There has been enough fentanyl seized in Seattle in the first three months of the year to kill the entire population of the city, according to Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz.
Seattle’s top cop made the claim during an hour-long KOMO News town hall, “The Cost of Crime,” commercial free event held in the KOMO studios. The town hall will air on KOMO News April 15 at 10 p.m. and April 16 at 3 p.m.
“I think Fentanyl has changed the face of the Seattle. I mean, five years ago, we recovered about 500 pills. This year alone, we have recovered over a million pills,” said Diaz. “We've recovered just in a short time, just in the first three months of the year enough that could kill this entire city. That is extraordinary.”
Diaz was making the point about what his department is facing, as it relates to the crisis around homelessness and public safety.
He was joined by Downtown Seattle Association President Jon Scholes, King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, Seattle City Council members Dan Strauss and Sara Nelson, SODO Business Improvement Area President Erin Goodman, and small business owner Leyla Farange.
Scholes has been pressing Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell for an Executive Action on fentanyl, as the mayor promised during his State of the City address earlier this year.
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Scholes told the panel “We've got a crisis here, we've had more people die from overdose deaths in our city since the beginning of the pandemic that have died from COVID. We’re not treating it like a crisis. We're not rising to the occasion at the federal state local level, like we did to battle COVID in this community.”
Manion and Davison both talked about how their two departments are more coordinated than ever before.
Yet, multiple challenges remain.
Downtown business owner Leyla Farange has a view on the area near Third and Pine. Farange has watched first hand how crime has impacted her restaurant.
“It got bad,” she said, “There is a still people out there and we have a huge drug problem. We keep saying homeless but this is a drug problem. We should take care of the drug dealers they need to go to jail and drug addicts they need our help.” Farange said she believes the situation is better than it was a year ago.
RELATED: Seattle mayor says downtown activation, fentanyl plan coming within weeks
As far as police staffing, Diaz suggested that the lack of a labor contract is a deterrent for keeping officers. Nelson agreed.
Strauss was asked if he regretted his earlier backing of the “Defund the Police” movement and said, “You know, I regret that there was not more time to make those decisions. Because what I was trying to do is have a nuanced conversation. That wasn't coming through the screaming voices across our city.”
You can watch the hour-long special on KOMO 4 at 10 p.m. April 15 and again April 16 at 3 p.m. The program will also be available on our website and YouTube.
