SEATTLE — A lawsuit against the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and Police Chief Adrian Diaz alleged that Diaz retaliated against an employee for raising concerns about racism and discrimination within the department.
Eric Greening has been with the Seattle Police Department since 1994 and rose to the rank of assistant chief in 2017. Greening, a Black man, was assigned to oversee the department's Collaborative Policing Bureau in 2021. He was assigned the additional task of being the executive sponsor of SPD's Race and Social Justice Initiative Change Team.
Greening's position mandated he raise concerns about racism and gender bias within SPD to Diaz and propose workable solutions, according to the lawsuit. Greening reported to Diaz, SPD's human resources manager and the Office of the Employee Ombud for the City of Seattle in 2021, 2022 and 2023, expressing concerns that women and BIPOC employees were being siloed to the Collaborative Policing Bureau and reporting instances of discrimination that he had seen against other SPD employees.
Greening expressed concerns to Diaz that female and BIPOC officers were being tasked with a majority of the work regarding equity, diversity and inclusion within the department, and that white commanders, civilian executive directors and other assistant chiefs were "being absolved of any responsibility to connect with community members in a non-enforcement capacity." Greening also alleged Diaz left female and BIPOC members of the command staff out of decision-making processes.
In early 2023, Diaz said SPD would hire a new deputy chief and assistant chief to the department. HE informed all acting assistant chiefs they would have to reapply for their roles. The lawsuit claimed Greening was neither hired for the deputy chief position nor granted more than a perfunctory interview for his former assistant chief job. He was instead demoted to the rank of captain and placed in charge of the Force Review Unit, which came with a $27,000 pay decrease.
Diaz's personal attorney issued a statement on his behalf, saying in part that he "is confident that an objective review of the circumstances underlying Mr. Greening's claims will show the department's actions were appropriate."
"The chief and the Seattle Police Department are committed to building a culture of trust and respect for all employees," the statement continued.