Two members of the Seattle Police Department’s command staff are under criminal investigation and are still on duty

SEATTLE – Two members of the Seattle Police Department’s command staff are under criminal investigation in connection with alleged crimes against women, a KING 5 investigation has found.

The two members of the leadership team under criminal investigation are Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis and Deputy Chief Eric Barden. Both men are still on the force. Neither has been charged with a crime.

The investigations come to light at a time of great turmoil for the department. In late May, the SPD faced complaints from at least seven employees who accused the department of racial and gender discrimination.

Now KING 5 has learned that Davis is being investigated for alleged sexual assault and Barden is being investigated for alleged domestic violence.

Internal emails obtained by KING 5 show that the investigations stemmed from complaints to SPD’s internal investigations division – the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) – which were then referred to outside agencies due to their criminal nature.

KING 5 has confirmed that a former employee of Seattle’s Community Police Commission initiated the investigation into Davis. The woman asked to remain anonymous.

“It’s terrible the impact this has had on my life,” she said.

Davis, who has worked for the department for 25 years, served as liaison between the commission and the SPD.

The woman said she met Davis at a work event on her second day of work.

Dozens of text messages exchanged between the woman and Davis, which KING 5 reviewed, show they had a relationship outside of work as well. She claimed Davis sexually harassed her after meeting at a restaurant in March.

Davis’ attorney said the allegations were untrue. In an email, he wrote: “Chief Davis was a 24-year officer with the Seattle Police Department, has an exemplary record, and is considered an important member of our community. These allegations are false, and he welcomes any investigation to clear his name.”

“The stress was debilitating. It affected my performance, my productivity, my sleep and my daily life,” the woman said. “The next day and for the days that followed, I felt really ashamed of what had happened to me.”

Documents obtained by KING 5 show that in the Barden case, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department received a report from the OPA in May stating that a “domestic violence” complaint had been received against the deputy police chief.

Barden did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

“The nature of the allegations you are referring to are serious, no matter what position you hold in the department,” said Ed Obayashi, who conducts sexual harassment and abuse investigations for senior law enforcement officials.

Several law enforcement experts expressed concern when they learned that two senior police officers from the same department are under separate criminal investigations and both remain on duty.

“The recommended practice in law enforcement is that someone under criminal investigation be placed on administrative leave,” Obayashi said.

“It is very unusual for a law enforcement officer of this level to be under criminal investigation,” said Walter Katz of the Council on Criminal Justice.

In mid-May, then-Police Chief Adrian Diaz placed Davis on leave. KING 5 now knows this happened after he became aware of the sexual assault allegation. The leave didn’t last long, however.

The following week, Mayor Bruce Harrell fired Diaz from office and replaced him with former King County Sheriff Sue Rahr. She brought Davis back into office on her first official day in office. KING 5 has learned she made the move before the alleged victim was even interviewed.

“I brought Tyrone Davis back because after reviewing the decision before me, I concluded that he did not need administrative leave to allow the investigation to move forward. There was no indication that he would hinder the investigation, there was no information that he would cause disruption in the workplace, so I saw no compelling reason to keep him on administrative leave,” said Acting Police Chief Sue Rahr.

In Barden’s case, internal sources confirm that Diaz attempted to place him on leave, but that order was not implemented under Rahr’s leadership.

“I was outraged, I was outraged, this is ridiculous,” said the alleged victim in the Davis case, adding that she was angry that both men were on duty and that this sent the wrong message to women.

“It tells me that I don’t matter, that these people, the public, these women don’t matter,” she said.

Sue Rahr stands by her decision to bring Davis back. She only said of Barden that he was “never on leave.”

“We take these allegations very seriously and are conducting a credible investigation,” Rahr said.

However, police experts point out that in these cases best practices are not being followed.

“The transparency and neutrality of the police essentially require an administrative leave of absence until the investigation is completed and a result is available,” Obayashi said.

These are just allegations and neither man has ever been charged with a crime and never will be. However, KING 5 is reporting this news because both are in very visible positions of power and five experts from across the country said it is unusual and not the best course of action to have officers on duty while they are under criminal investigation.

Watch KING 5’s investigations on YouTube