We have an exciting opportunity to help Seattle Police Department detectives solve an open, unsolved case!

In 2017 and 2018, multiple body parts washed ashore in the area of Four Mile Rock near Seattle’s Discovery Park. Despite exhaustive efforts by Seattle Police Detectives and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, they have not yet been able to determine the identity of the person or how they died.

With the department unable to invest the expected cost of $15,000 for DNA testing, the Seattle Police Foundation is launching crowdfunding efforts to pay for the DNA test in hopes of helping to solve this case and provide closure to the person’s family.

Crowdfunding to support DNA testing has already been successfully used in Washington state. Last year, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department launched fundraising efforts to test the DNA of a foot found in a sneaker that was discovered in the Elwha River in 2021. The test revealed the foot belonged to a woman who disappeared in 2018.

The 2023 Seattle Police Awards Ceremony took place Thursday March 23, 2023 and was an amazing evening filled with stories of heroism, bravery, and compassion.

This year’s program celebrated the accomplishments of 155 officers and staff with Excellence Awards, 70 officers and staff with Lifesaving Awards, and another 59 officers and staff with Chief’s Awards. Officers from each Precinct were recognized as Precinct Officer of the Year, plus we celebrated Sergeant of the Year, Detective of the Year, Civilian of the Year, and Officer(s) of the Year.

Four officers were awarded Medals of Courage, 12 with Medals of Valor, and 14 officers were recognized and given the Department’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor. Medal of Honor recipients were commended for their response to the Ingraham High School shooting incident, and we grateful to have Assistant Principal Zach Elvig on stage to shake their hands.

Thank you to the amazing SPF sponsors who made this event possible, including ‘True Blue Sponsors’ Directors Mortgage and HomeStreet Bank, ‘4-Star Sponsors’ AWS and the Ellison Foundation, and ‘3-Star Sponsors’ Fremont Dock Company, SODO BIA, and U-Park. Thank you for helping honor the incredible heroes that serve our City seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Additional thanks to SPD’s hardworking Photo and Video Unit, along with our devoted SPF volunteers, who helped make this night so spectacular.

We are so proud of our good friend SPD Officer Dorian Korieo! 

On Wednesday, April 5, Chief Adrian Diaz and Officer Dorian Korieo joined Chase Bank executives at the Chinatown-International District branch for the relaunch of the “Safe Place” program. In addition to its Seattle branches which already have the program in place, Chase Bank announced that its partnership with Safe Place now includes all of Chase Bank’s Western Washington locations.

The Safe Place program is a partnership between the police department, schools, and the business community created to respond to hate crimes. It was born out of a need to address low reporting of anti-LGBTQ+ crimes and school bullying incidents, and was expanded in 2018 to include all hate crimes. Safe Place gives people who have experienced a crime of bias or hate a safe place to go after their incident, where they can be assured that the business will shelter them while they call for help.

Each Safe Place location is signified by an easily recognizable rainbow-hued emblem, which is generally affixed near the door of a school or business in a highly visible location. The program was founded in 2014 and caught on quickly in Seattle. 

Today, there are over 7,500 Safe Place locations in Seattle. 

The Safe Place program is about more than just a sticker in a window. It’s an opportunity for the business community to take a collective stand against hate, not only in the Seattle community, but in communities around the world. As of April 2023, Safe Place has been licensed and enacted by 345 law enforcement agencies large and small, across the United States, in Canada, and in Europe.

Support from the Seattle Police Foundation helps to keep Safe Place materials stocked and ready to distribute. In 2020, we were excited to help make the Safe Place Program even more inclusive by translating and printing Safe Place stickers, training materials, and flyers in five non-English languages, including Chinese, Korean, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. 

Please join us in thanking Officer Korieo for all his hard work! 

This incredible gift gives us a head start on our 2023 fundraising for this important community initiative.

Please find the full media advisory on our website!

On March 23 Seattle Police Department Patrol K9 Bucky celebrated his second birthday!

K9 Bucky is a stunning 2-year-old male Belgian Malinois. He was born on March 23, 2021, and started his career with SPD in the summer of 2022. Originally from the Czech Republic, Bucky is a generalist (patrol) dog, trained to track and locate criminal suspects and find evidence. He is a big goofball who loves to work and play with his KONG. 

When he’s not working, Bucky loves getting lots of love from his human 4-year-old brother and 1-year-old sister. Belgian Malinois are notoriously smart dogs, and Bucky lives up to his breed. He has learned that when his handler’s work phone starts to make noise, that means it’s time to go to work and he is very excited to do so. He is affectionately known as “Ed” by other officers who work with him, because he laughs like Ed the hyena from the movie, ‘The Lion King.’  

Bucky is named after Marvel Comics character Bucky Barnes, who had a prominent role as the Winter Soldier in the comic book series Captain America.  

On March 16 we wished Seattle Police Department K9 Devon a very happy birthday!

K9 Devon is an energetic Labrador Retriever trained to detect the odor of narcotics. She was born on March 16, 2019, in Salt Lake City Utah, and started with the Seattle Police Department in October 2021. 

She is a former hunting dog that will do pretty much anything for her favorite toy, which is a tennis ball. This makes her ideal at her job, as she is always eager to get to work and get the job done so that she can have her reward. K9 Devon lives with her handler and handler’s family. When she’s not working, she loves playing fetch, eating treats, and getting endless attention and belly rubs from her human family. 

K9 Devon was purchased for SPD by Seattle Police Foundation donors and is a powerful asset to the Seattle Police Department. A dog’s nose is at least 10,000 time more acute than a human’s, making them excellent at narcotics detection work. Devon has helped in numerous narcotics investigations and is having an impact on Seattle’s fentanyl crisis. Thanks to her sharp nose and diligent investigators, large quantities of drugs have been taken off our streets. 

We love this picture of Seattle Police Department Officer Eric Dupleich and K9 Jazzy-Juno at the Thursday, April 13 Seattle Kraken game at Climate Pledge Arena!

One of K9 Jazzy’s friends on the Seattle Kraken Sea Squad gifted Jazzy with her own Kraken tentacle recently, so Officer Dupleich brought it with them to the game so she could show off her team spirit. K9 Jazzy is an Explosives Detection K9 with a nose as sharp as her disposition is sweet. She is very friendly and loves meeting awesome Kraken fans while ensuring that the arena is safe for guests.

Your generous support contributes to the safety of Seattle residents, along with visitors, guests, professional athletes, and performers who spend time in our popular event venues. Thank you for making Explosive Detection K9s like Jazzy possible!