Seattle, WA

Seattle city official hit with staff 'whistleblower' complaints

Published

1 year ago

October 22, 2024

Seattle city official hit with staff 'whistleblower' complaints

The embattled director of the Office of Police Accountability (OPA) faces a slew of whistleblower complaints, according to multiple sources. Now, rumors are swirling that Gino Betts is being managed out of the position.

“At least seven different civilian OPA employees in the small department have filed HR complaints against Director Betts for workplace misconduct,” the email complaint states. “Betts manages with fear and intimidation and has created a toxic work environment. OPA employees respect the chain of command and have been trying to fix this internally for over a year and a half. Betts knows what he is doing is wrong because he only lashes out at non-union employees who he knows cannot fight back for fear of being fired.”

OPA staff, who refer to themselves as whistleblowers, sent their complaints via email to city council members, the Office of Inspector General and other city officials. They complain of Betts’ mistreatment of staff, acting unprofessional and creating a hostile work environment. The whistleblowers say, “The majority of OPA staff have lost confidence in Betts” due to his alleged conduct.

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What are complaints against OPA Director Gino Betts about?

The complaint makes a number of serious allegations against Gino Betts. They center on alleged mistreatment of staff and an effort to cover up certain investigations for political gain. “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH obtained the email from the person who claimed to be one of the whistleblowers. The email was independently verified.

“Betts bullies and belittles staff he believes are weak or who have different points of view,” the complaint email alleged. “He turns what should be calm collaborative discussions into stressful adversarial arguments he must win at all costs. Employees fear interacting with him and this impacts work.”

The whistleblowers claim that Betts “has driven out many valued employees” and that he’s known to retaliate “against women filing complaints against him.”

“Betts orally reprimanded a new mother for using all of her Family Medical Leave time after giving birth,” the whistleblowers claim. “The mother’s FMLA was legitimate-Betts just thought she should not have used all of it as it inconvenienced the office. This was during the new mother’s yearly performance review. The mother received half the vacation merit days as her peers. Isn’t this illegal?”

The email continues, alleging Betts “taunts, humiliates and laughs at subordinates he perceives as disagreeing with him,” “ices out people he disfavors,” has a “tyrannical attitude” that leads to “sloppy procedural mistakes on his part that will eventually cost the city in settlement money when terminated officers sue,” and ” micromanages to an unreasonable and destructive degree.”

The whistleblowers also make a number of allegations that Betts is purposefully burying “credible” complaints made against former police chief Adrian Diaz.

“Betts ordered staff on at least three occasions to ignore the serious cases and instead focus on easy to close out contact logs — clearly frivolous cases that would exonerate the Chief with no investigation and little work,” they claim.

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What is the city saying about the allegations?

Gino Betts did not respond to a request for comment. Emails to his city account were met with an out-of-office reply, indicating he will be out until November 4. OPA did not explain why he is out of the office or when he took time off, when asked by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Early last week, rumors began to spread that Betts was on his way out. While Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office will not confirm or deny any of the allegations or knowledge of the complaints, a spokesperson denied rumors that Betts was placed on administrative leave. In a follow-up email, the mayor’s spokesperson ignored most questions but did say Betts’ employment status has not changed.

Multiple sources said Betts was a no-show at the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement conference in Tucson earlier this month, despite being scheduled to attend. But neither the mayor’s office nor OPA will answer specific questions about this.

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Gino Betts has been a controversial figure

The OPA Director has been the subject of numerous criticisms from Seattle Police officers. They believe he lacks impartiality, a claim highlighted by his handling of a recent high-profile case.

Betts most recently was subject to criticism for the Dan Auderer case, a now-former Seattle cop who joked about how city attorneys would respond to the death of graduate student Jaahnavi Kandula. She ran across a crosswalk as an officer was driving to an overdose emergency. She appeared to have misjudged the officer’s speed and was hit and killed. The officer was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in her death. Auderer had been called to test the officer for impairment, which is procedure, but knew little about the victim. He made the joke privately in his patrol vehicle, while on a call. It was accidentally recorded on his body camera, leading to a complaint about unprofessionalism.

Emails and a video recording obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” show Betts found Auderer guilty before the investigation concluded. Though Betts acknowledged he did not have evidence that Auderer committed bias policing when making his joke about city lawyers, the director recommended the cop be terminated for bias policing against the victim over the joke.

“So we brought a bias allegation against him (Auderer) that we’re not going to sustain because we can’t prove that he was biased when he made the comments. That he knew her race or he knew any personal identifying information about her. But, I do highly doubt that if this were an officer that was in her (Kandula’s) position, he wouldn’t be making these types of comments. So, I can’t say he was bias because of her race, or anything like that,” Betts admitted during a media training session on framing the OPA’s finding against Auderer, according to a recording obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show.”

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Kraken fall to Mammoth 5-3 for 7th loss in 8 games

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Seattle Kraken fall to Mammoth 5-3 for 7th loss in 8 games

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dylan Guenther scored a go-ahead power-play goal in the third period and the Utah Mammoth beat the Seattle Kraken 5-3 on Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Utah Mammoth 5, Seattle Kraken 3: Box score

Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists, and Kailer Yamamoto, JJ Peterka, and Lawson Crouse also scored for the Mammoth. Kevin Stenlund had three assists and Karel Vejmelka stopped 32 shots.

Mason Marchment had two goals and Ben Meyers also scored for the Kraken in their seventh loss in eight games. Phillipp Grubauer had 26 saves.

After a scoreless first period, Marchment put Seattle on the board with a backhand shot at 3:35 of the second.

Schmaltz tied it at 8:09 with an unassisted goal. He attacked off a breakaway and chipped the puck over Grubauer’s shoulder from close range.

Yamamoto then gave Utah its first lead with 6:36 left in the middle period.

Seattle had several shots at an equalizer during a two-man advantage lasting nearly two minutes, but the Kraken came up empty.

Marchment then got his second goal of the night and fourth of the season at 7:50 of the third, slapping the puck home from long distance to tie it.

Guenther gave Utah a 3-2 lead with 7:05 remaining, successfully converting a power play.

Peterka and Crouse added empty netters over the final three minutes, and Meyers scored for Seattle with 43 seconds to go for the final margin.

Up next

Kraken: Host Buffalo on Sunday.

Mammoth: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Seattle Kraken dealt another tough blow on the injury front

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Brock: How rookie DL can fit in Seattle Seahawks’ defense

Published

21 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Brock: How rookie DL can fit in Seattle Seahawks’ defense

The Seattle Seahawks focused heavily on their offense during the draft this past spring, using nine of their 11 selections to pick players on that side of the ball.

Just two of their picks were defenders: safety Nick Emmanwori and defensive lineman Rylie Mills.

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After returning from an injury suffered in the season opener that forced him to miss three games (and essentially four since he played on four snaps in Week 1), Emmanwori is making his case to be in consideration for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Mills, on the other hand, has yet to play a snap while recovering from an ACL tear suffered last December during his final season at Notre Dame. But the fifth-round pick appears to be nearing his NFL debut. Mills, who was designated to return to practice from injured reserve Nov. 26, was a full participant in practice for the first time last Friday. He was ruled out of Sunday’s game against Atlanta, but practiced in full on Wednesday and Thursday as Seattle prepares for a matchup with Indianapolis this Sunday.

The Seahawks have until next Wednesday to decide if they will activate Mills to the 53-man roster or place him on IR for the rest of the season. So it may be another week until he makes his debut, and it’s no guarantee that he will play this season. If he is activated to the 53-man roster, how will he fit the Seahawks’ standout defense? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard shared his insight about the role the Notre Dame product could play during his Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Thursday.

“I do remember watching him a number of times and just, gosh, he was a good college football player,” Huard said. “He’s big now. He’s 6-5, 290 (pounds), and to be honest with you, you know where he fits a little bit more? He would fit a little bit more in a traditional, kind of old school Pittsburgh Steelers 3-4 defense. He would be that five-technique defensive end that could play that spot and be very stout.”

Mills is similar in size to star Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who measures in at 6-5 and 310 pounds. But one key difference is Williams has more length, which is a concern Huard has about Mills.

“The challenge and what I’m anxious to kind of see in how they utilize him eventually is he’s not real long (Mills had 32 5/8 inch arms at the draft combine)” Huard said. “He’s not like Leonard Williams with that length. He’s not necessarily like a (Quinton) Bohanna and a (Brandon) Pili at 330-plus pounds either. (He’s) 6-5, 290, fairly athletic, super smart, super savvy, but he’s a little different than all the rest of these D-linemen.

“He’s certainly not an edge player and he doesn’t have some of the size or the length of some of the interior (linemen).”

Every Rylie Mills sack (17.0) 👀💪
The best of @ryliemills99 ➡️ https://t.co/tBCRILE4Eh#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/kdxRT6F6c5
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) March 21, 2025

However, Huard is confident the Seahawks can figure out the best way to utilize Mills’ skills just like they have with another player on their defensive line who lacks some of the ideal measurables: 2024 first-round pick Byron Murphy II.

“Like they’ve done with Murphy, who also is not prototypical in some of the size, they will play to his skill set,” Huard said. “(Mills’) greatest skill set, frankly, might just be his brain.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Seattle Seahawks coverage

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• Seattle Seahawks Injury Report: OL starter may be nearing return
• Daniel Jeremiah: Seahawks rookie Grey Zabel ‘an elite guard now’
• Date and time for Seattle Seahawks’ Week 17 game at Carolina announced
• Seahawks Notebook: Coach leaves team; two players designated to return

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Seattle weather: Drier skies Friday, some rivers remain above flood stage

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Seattle weather: Drier skies Friday, some rivers remain above flood stage

SEATTLE – High river levels continue this evening after the heaviest showers came to an end Thursday with only a few lingering showers. A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for the Mount Vernon area due to flood risks if local levees fail, which remains possible through Friday afternoon.

Our FOX 13 Weather Team is closely watching for potential flash flooding concerns over the Skagit River.

A Flash Flood Watch is posted until late Friday: there is a possibility of dike/levee failure. (FOX 13 Seattle)

Landslide and localized flooding will still remain an issue into the end of the week.

High river levels continue this evening after the heaviest showers come to an end Thursday.

We have seen three rivers in Western Washington reach record level heights, making this a historic flooding event for the state. We still have the likelihood of seeing record heights for the Skagit River at Mount Vernon this evening into early Friday morning as it crests. Most of our area rivers will continue to decrease overnight and throughout Friday.

We have seen three rivers in Western Washington reach record level heights, making this a historic flooding event for Western Washington.

Rainfall totals Thursday were significantly lower compared to Wednesday, which will help to lower river levels over the next few days.

Rainfall totals Thursday were significantly lower compared to Wednesday, which will help to lower river levels over the next few days.

Temperatures this afternoon were also significantly warmer compared to average, with highs in the mid to upper 50s.

Temperatures this afternoon were also significantly warmer compared to average, with highs in the mid to upper 50s.

What’s next:

Skies will be much drier Friday as we see the atmospheric river move out of Western Washington. High pressure will slowly build back in for Friday and Saturday, aiding in the rivers receding and for the soil to dry out.

Skies will be much drier Friday as we see the atmospheric river move out of Western Washington.

Highs will remain very mild through the weekend, reaching the mid 50s. We will see dry skies and even some sunbreaks for Saturday. Our next round of showers return Sunday with scattered rain, then heavier showers and lowering snowlevels by the middle of next week.

Highs will remain very mild through the weekend, reaching the mid 50s.

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The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle Meteorologist Claire Anderson and the National Weather Service.

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