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Mayor Durkan and Interim Chief Best on their plans to continue reforms at the Seattle PD

Carmen Best, center, smiles while standing with her husband, left, and Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan, right, during a press conference on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, at City Hall in Seattle.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Carmen Best, center, smiles while standing with her husband, left, and Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan, right, during a press conference on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, at City Hall in Seattle.

Ross Reynolds talks to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Interim Police Chief Carmen Best on the recent naming of Best to permanently take the position. She still needs to be confirmed by the Seattle City Council.

"I wanna make sure that we hold everybody accountable in the department for good, fair, and just policing," said Chief Best.

"One of the main reasons I selected her was we've worked together on these issues for a long period of time, including when we were doing reform efforts," said Mayor Durkan. "I think I'm probably the only mayor in the country whose police department is under a consent decree that I signed, as US Attorney," she said, "I am very, very familiar with the obligations."

Mayor Durkan continued, "One of the things that [Best] and I have talked about -- once she's confirmed, there's a process by which the new chief coming in can hit the reset button and make sure that the old discpline matrix don't apply to her ability to hold people accountable."

Year started with KUOW: 2018