Seattle police to release more Bite of Seattle shooting texts this week, interim chief says

The Seattle Police Department expects to release its own internal text and Microsoft Teams messages from the night of the deadly Bite of Seattle mass shooting by the end of this week, Interim Police Chief Andre Sayles said Monday, potentially providing another window into the nearly five-hour communications breakdown that followed the attack. Sayles made the disclosure during a media availability following a violent weekend in Belltown that left three people dead and three wounded. The announcement comes days after Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's office released hundreds of internal messages from the July 26 shooting, which killed three people and wounded four others, including a 2-year-old child. Asked on Monday when SPD would release records journalists had requested from the department, Sayles said police were already collecting them. 'We actually on Friday were working through our own collection of our text messages, team messages and so forth,' Sayles said. 'I think hopefully by this week, at the end of this week, we should have our information released out to the media that put in those public disclosure requests.' The mayor's office released its records Friday even though they were not released in response to a public disclosure request. Asked whether SPD also needed to wait for a records request, Sayles said his priority was ensuring the department released a complete record. 'My biggest thing is I want to make sure we have all that information,' Sayles said. 'I don't want it to be where we put out information, and then there's three or four people's text messages missing. I want to make sure we have everything, we put it all out, and it's all accurate, and the timelines are there for what we have.' That timeline has been at the center of controversy since the shooting. Gunfire erupted at Seattle Center at approximately 6 pm, but city officials did not address reporters until shortly before 11 pm. The records released by Wilson's office Friday revealed an administration scrambling over messaging, the mayor's whereabouts, and the public perception of her absence while reporters waited for information. Wilson knew about the shooting shortly after it occurred and repeatedly discussed whether she should go to Seattle Center. At one point, after learning that KOMO was reporting that she and members of the City Council were expected at the scene, Wilson wrote, 'I'm sure they would love to spin an 'absent mayor' story.' Her staff debated whether she should appear, with safety concerns cited because the scene had not initially been secured. However, the messages indicate Seattle Center was considered contained almost three hours before officials eventually addressed the media. The records also revealed significant frustration inside Wilson's office with SPD's lack of public communication. 'It's f*cking embarrassing that SPD has waited HOURS to put anything out,' then-interim press secretary Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote. Interim Communications Director Dawn Schellenberg responded, 'Well, we're not!' But the mayor's office had its own problems getting accurate information to the public. Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt flagged an error in a statement from Wilson's office that said two suspects were in custody when only one had been arrested. 'The statement says 2 suspects in custody. This is not accurate. Please revise,' Surratt wrote. When Schellenberg later questioned the release of inaccurate information, Spangenthal-Lee responded, 'I mean I'm not really worried about it,' before adding, 'Sh*t happens. We still put out 100 percent more information than spd.' Another message offered insight into why Seattle's AlertSeattle emergency notification system was never activated despite a mass shooting unfolding at one of the city's largest summer festivals. Spangenthal-Lee described responsibility for activating the system as 'everyone's job and no one's job.' The mayor's records, however, appear to leave important gaps. Barnes was later asked to resign by Wilson and was replaced on an interim basis by Sayles. Wilson subsequently announced new emergency communications protocols requiring direct contact between the mayor and police chief during significant incidents and aiming to provide information to the media within one hour when possible. Wilson has said that she did not realize during the shooting how little information SPD was providing to the public and that, had she known, she would have pushed for an immediate briefing. Sayles was asked Monday whether the messages released by Wilson's office accurately portrayed SPD's actions that night. He said he had not yet completed that comparison. 'I have gone through all of them,' Sayles said, before explaining that the violent Labor Day weekend had prevented him from fully piecing the records together. 'My job is going to be seeing what the mayor's office put out and then looking at the information that we have from what we did on that Sunday night,' he said. The SPD records could also shed additional light on one of the most disputed questions surrounding the delayed press conference: whether police were waiting for elected officials described as 'dignitaries' before beginning the briefing. Wilson has denied that her administration instructed SPD to delay the briefing for dignitaries. However, SPD Detective Brian Pritchard later wrote that during police team briefings, officers were told they were waiting for dignitaries to arrive. The mayor's newly released messages show Gov. Bob Ferguson and Rep. Pramila Jayapal arrived at Seattle Center before Wilson. Reporters waiting for the briefing were told there was a delay while 'dignitaries' arrived, though the records do not establish which officials were referred to. Sayles was also asked Monday whether he would allow Pritchard to testify at the Seattle City Council's Public Safety Committee hearing later this month. Sayles said he had not made a final determination, citing concerns about protecting the detective after Pritchard discussed personal matters in his email. But when told Pritchard had indicated he was willing to testify, Sayles said he would speak with him. 'When I talk to Detective Pritchard and he gives me the thumbs up and he's willing to be there, I'll have Detective Pritchard there,' Sayles said. 'Once he says, 'Chief, I'm ready to go,' I'll be there standing right next to him.' Wilson has asked Seattle's Office of Inspector General to review the city's response and communications failures surrounding the shooting. On Monday, she defended her office's decision to release the texts and said the administration was now 'really focused on moving forward.'