Contract records show Barnes received a $50,000 hiring bonus and $60,000 relocation benefit on top of a $361,862 salary; the city later waived repayment after he resigned following a deadly July shooting.
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Seattle taxpayers paid more than $100,000 in hiring and relocation incentives to recruit Shon Barnes as police chief, according to his contract obtained by The Center Square.
to a $361,862 annual salary, records obtained reveal that he was paid an additional $50,000 hiring incentive along with a $60,000 relocation benefit.
Edit Article Add New Article Close You have permission to edit this article. Seattle taxpayers paid more than $100,000 in hiring and relocation incentives to recruit Shon Barnes as police chief, according to his contract obtained by The Center Square. to a $361,862 annual salary, records obtained reveal that he was paid an additional $50,000 hiring incentive along with a $60,000 relocation benefit.
Additionally, the annual salary was significantly above the $347,944 found in the original job posting, with the minimum salary of $217,444. Former SPD Chief Carmen Best was initially paid $285,000 and eventually $294,000. Kathleen O'Toole was paid $273,275 in 2016 Barnes was hired in January 2025 by then-Mayor Bruce Harrell and resigned four days after the July 26 Bite of Seattle shooting that left three people killed and four people wounded.
He was in Dallas attending a conference the day of the shooting. Andre Sayles is the current interim SPD chief. Could Washington high court's natural gas ruling unravel income tax law?
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