Seattle police chief to retire after city council votes to cut police budget by nearly $4 million

(CNN) — Police Chief Carmen Best announced her retirement Monday night, shortly after the Seattle’s City Council voted to cut nearly $4 million from the police department’s budget.

Best’s announcement came on the same day the council approved the mid-year budget cut from the police department’s 2019-2020 budget of $400 million.

The reduction to the police department budget will equate to $11 million over the course of a year, an amount that is far less than a 50% budget cut that had earlier been discussed.

The city council rebalanced the budget in light of the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and calls to redistribute funds from policing to community programs in the wake of the protests following the death of George Floyd, Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González said in a statement.

“I want to thank Mayor (Jenny) Durkan for her continuous support through good times and tough times,” Best said in a letter to members of the police force obtained by CNN. “I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times.”

Best said her retirement will be effective September 2.

Durkan said the city is losing an unmatched leader.

“Her grit, grace and integrity have inspired me and made our city better,” Durkan said in a statement. “These last months, I knew Chief Best was the person to lead our city through this challenging time, to reimagine policing and community safety.”

“Reducing the budget of the Seattle Police Department is a response to the calls for advocating for racial justice and investments in BIPOC communities,” González said.

The budget reduction calls for cutting 32 officers from patrol, reducing specialized units and administrative costs, cutting training and travel expenses, transferring victim advocates to the human services department and removing two sworn officers from the 911 emergency call center.

The city’s 911 calls involve criminal activity 56% of the time, and González said resources and funds can be better allocated by involving other services.

“What we can do is allow our police to focus on what they are trained to do and fund service providers addressing the more complex issues of housing, substance use disorder, youth violence prevention, affordable healthcare, and more,” she said.

The budget still must go to Durkan, who can sign it into law, not sign and allow it to become law or veto it, spokesperson Kelsey Nyland said.

In June, Durkan asked the council to cut about $20 million from the budget of the police department to deal with a city shortfall of $378 million stemming from lower tax revenue and increased demand on services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed cut to the police department was the largest reduction in the mayor’s budget proposal.

At the time, Durkan asked the police department to come up with plans to cut up to 50% of its spending in next year’s budget.