Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz not selected for Austin Police Chief position

SEATTLE — Former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz was not selected for the position of chief of police of the Austin Police Department in Texas, according to information released Tuesday. The city of Austin announced its two finalists from more than 30 applicants being considered for the department’s top leadership position.

Diaz was relieved of his top leadership position at the Seattle Police Department on May 29 and assigned to special projects within the department.

At the time, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said he had appointed an independent investigator after several women in the Seattle agency made allegations of misconduct against him and other SPD leaders.

At least seven employees are suing Diaz, accusing him of racial and gender discrimination within the department. A female officer also claims to have been sexually harassed by Diaz.

Harrell said Diaz proposed “putting the needs of the city first” and agreed to resign.

“We also want to ensure that no one who has complaints within the department faces retaliation or other setbacks during the investigation,” Harrell said in May.

In June, Diaz spoke publicly for the first time about the allegations and accusations.

In the interview, he revealed that he had applied for the position of police chief in Austin. In the same interview, Diaz talked about his sexuality and how he deals with his identity as a gay Latino man.

“I want to make sure people understand who I am,” Diaz said at the time of the June 18 interview. “I want to live my truth. I don’t want to be hidden behind some curtain or anything like that. I want another opportunity to serve a city, and that’s not easy when you’re faced with false accusations. I don’t want to have any secrets if I decide to go to another city.”

Austin police will choose between Jeffrey Norman, the current police chief in Milwaukee, and Lisa Davis, the deputy police chief in Cincinnati, KING 5’s sister station in Austin reports. Norman would be Austin’s first black police chief and Davis would be the city’s second female police chief, KVUE reports.