Shon Barnes canceled a planned KOMO News interview on Wednesday about the Seattle Center shooting and the travel records his office released. The interview was called off about 30 minutes before it was scheduled, after Barnes had agreed that morning to discuss the department’s response, the communication failures that followed and his travel schedule.
His office provided calendar entries covering late March through the end of July, and those records show he was outside the Seattle area nearly a dozen times in four months. By KOMO News’ count, the travel and other absences add up to close to 50 days away from his Seattle office.
Seattle office records
The calendar shows seven work-related conferences and four trips to Chicago, where Barnes has family. It also lists travel to Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Dallas and at least one additional location. The documents also include blocked-off time this week for a dental procedure and a medical appointment.
That record matters because it is more specific than a general claim about whether a chief travels often. It gives a timeline: late March through the end of July, then Sunday in Dallas, then Wednesday’s canceled interview. It also leaves a narrower question for readers following the department’s response to the Seattle Center shooting: whether those days away reflected work in other places, work done remotely, or time out of the Seattle office for other reasons.
Dallas, Seattle Center shooting
On Sunday, Barnes was attending a conference in Dallas when gunfire erupted at Seattle Center and killed three people and injured several others. He acknowledged that he was not in Seattle when the shooting occurred. Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis was listed as acting chief that day and led the department’s first formal news briefing about approximately five hours after the shooting.
At a Tuesday news conference, Barnes pushed back on claims that he is routinely away from the city. He said, “I don’t travel as often as I would like to.” He also said, “I think any reports that I’m gone every weekend are grossly misstated.” Barnes added that his commitment can be “in full display, especially if someone is questioning my work ethic or my integrity.”
Seattle Police Department calendar
The records also show Barnes remained in Seattle throughout the city’s World Cup matches, and they list him as scheduled to be in Seattle during this week’s Seafair events. The calendar appears to designate an acting police chief during each absence, which gives the department a built-in handoff when Barnes is away from his office.
What remains most useful for readers is the same thing the records make plain: the chief’s calendar now sits at the center of the scrutiny, not just his travel. The unanswered question is why Barnes needed seven conferences and multiple Chicago trips during the four-month period while the department was still dealing with the fallout from the Seattle Center shooting.
