by Carmen Rivera

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In 2022, the Seattle Police Department and Seattle Pride engaged in discussions about SPD’s involvement in the annual Pride parade held on Stonewall Sunday. As mandated by the City of Seattle, the police were expected to provide traffic assistance and crowd control. However, following a community survey in May 2021, which garnered over 1,300 responses requesting that police not be allowed to march, the Seattle Pride board passed a policy prohibiting “police uniforms, police vehicles, any police insignia, or police propaganda to walk in any parade [contingent].”

The events of summer 2020 brought to light conversations around police brutality, fiscal responsibility with police budgets, and issues with transparency with SPD’s leadership and the mayor’s office. Seattle Pride discussed the involvement of SPD when in-person events returned, particularly the annual Seattle Pride Parade. Many members of the LGBTQ community and allies recalled SPD’s violent tactics in 2020, including tear-gassing much of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The excessive use of force by police impacted even Seattle University criminal justice students, who witnessed firsthand the chaos and destruction. It was undoubtedly an eye-opening summer for everyone involved.

After a meeting with Seattle Police Department leadership and the mayor’s office in 2022, where both were presented with an opportunity to reestablish trust with the community they had harmed only less than two years prior, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz threw a tantrum by tokenizing a few LGBTQ officers with an open letter to the Seattle Pride executive board. In the letter, Diaz quotes several LGBTQ officers to support his claims that he stands with LGBTQ officers. This decision only served to highlight the need for the new policy prohibiting police from walking in uniform in the parade.

Initially, in 2021, there was opposition to the policy and its possible double standard. For example, if we are to regulate uniforms, we would have to address fire fighters, who have not always been allies but are allowed to walk in their uniforms. However, community input and the response from SPD during meetings shifted perspectives. The personal experiences of the writer, including attending Seattle Police Officers Guild picnics and even Chief Diaz’s wedding, have only added depth to the decision-making process. 

Unfortunately, Diaz’s open letter led to further division between SPD and the already marginalized members of the community. Detective Aimee LaClaire’s statement, “[Seattle Pride] should feel honored that we want to march with the community members we have sworn to protect and serve,” only served to highlight the entitlement and hero complex that some police hold in their positions. Stonewall Sunday celebrates an incredibly violent moment of police brutality in LGBTQ+ history, led by community members who were criminalized for who they were. 

Dorian Korieo, the Seattle Police LGBTQ+ liaison, had a particularly challenging time working with Seattle Pride due to his emotions, at times getting upset and defensive during conversations about police brutality, which only added to the disconnect from the community. Korieo faced several investigations for excessive use of force, including two alleged incidents of taser abuse. It is clear that incidents of excessive use of force and unprofessionalism lead to attitudes of entitlement and arrogance, eventually leading to broken relationships with the community and organizational failure.

SPD does work to address these issues with its Before the Badge program. However, some officers have concerns regarding the role of “pro-original marriage” advocate and pastor Harvey Drake as a trainer with the program. One assistant chief reportedly left the program due to Drake’s position and stance regarding the LGBTQ community. Diaz’s strong stance with his LGBTQ officers was as performative as SPD willfully violating Seattle Pride’s policy by driving its rainbow vehicle and walking at the end of the Seattle Pride Parade in 2022 in uniform.

Police officers have the privilege of taking off their uniforms at the end of the day after being paid 2 to 3 times the minimum wage while still receiving all the benefits that come with their positions. Diaz, who did not have to go through the ranks like some of his peers, skipping the role of captain entirely, is removed from the realities of what is happening on the streets, for the most part because he and the leaders around him are oppositional toward those who hold opinions they do not like. After his role alongside former Chief Carmen Best and former Mayor Jenny Durkan, he has learned it is easier to be a performative leader than a transformative one.

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The South Seattle Emerald is committed to holding space for a variety of viewpoints within our community, with the understanding that differing perspectives do not negate mutual respect amongst community members.

The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Emerald or official policies of the Emerald.

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Carmen Rivera is a former board member of Seattle Pride, and her opinions do not reflect that of the organization.

📸 Featured image by Helen Filatova/Shutterstock.com.

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