Seattle, WA
‘Appearance of segregation’ at Seattle Police Department, captain says in lawsuit
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Seattle Police Captain Eric Greening filed a lawsuit against Chief Adrian Diaz on Monday, alleging that Diaz discriminated against women and people of color at the department.
Greening also claims that Diaz retaliated against him for bringing issues of bias to the chief’s attention, despite Greening being in a position that required him to do so.
Greening, a Black man, has been with Seattle Police for nearly 30 years. He previously held the role of assistant chief, intermittently served as acting chief, and was a finalist for the role of police chief before Mayor Bruce Harrell chose Diaz for the job.
He’s also the third former assistant chief to accuse Diaz of racist and sexist behavior in lawsuits. Diaz demoted all three former assistant chiefs prior to their legal claims. Former Assistant Chief Steve Hirjak settled for $600,000 in 2023.
Additionally, four female cops sued Diaz last month, alleging sex discrimination, harassment, and grooming.
This latest lawsuit paints the chief as unwilling to hear sincere advice, even from Greening, a longtime colleague. Greening’s claims echo a warning police have shared amongst themselves since 2020, when Diaz took power: Don’t disagree with the chief, or you may face retaliation.
Greening claims Diaz harmed his reputation, caused him shame and embarrassment, and diminished future career prospects. He now has trouble sleeping and is anxious about further retaliation from Diaz, his attorney Toby Marshall wrote in the lawsuit.
“He feels humiliated,” Marshall wrote.
A spokesperson with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office said they’re unable to comment on pending litigation.
The Seattle Police Department did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
‘Appearance of segregation’
According to the lawsuit, in September 2021, Greening told Diaz that the department discriminated against female and BIPOC officers by assigning them to community outreach work, but not their white male colleagues.
At the time, Greening led the Collaborative Policing Bureau — a department that leads community outreach — and sat on a race and social justice team. In these roles, Greening was expected to raise racism and gender bias issues to Diaz and propose solutions.
Greening told the chief he worried about “the appearance of segregation” within the department, and about “cultural taxation,” which is extra work placed on underrepresented groups pertaining to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Greening raised concerns about discrimination again, when he was interviewed as part of a complaint filed by former Assistant Chief Steve Hirjak in November 2021.
Hirjak alleged Diaz and the department treated him differently because of his race, and retaliated against him. Greening said Hirjak received fewer resources and support as incident commander, compared to his white colleagues, and that Hirjak and other female and BIPOC command staff members were left out of decision making.
Two months later, in January 2022, Greening told Diaz that he believed he, the chief, discriminated against Black supervisors by circumventing them and making direct requests to their subordinates — including his own.
In the same meeting, Diaz, according to the lawsuit, said he’d heard rumors about “the good old boys” in command staff.
According to the lawsuit, “Greening responded by saying that there was truth to the assertion because Chief Diaz took counsel from only the white men in command staff, leaving the two female assistant chiefs and Mr. Greening as the “out group.”
Greening told Diaz that while the department was diverse, “it was only inclusive when convenient to the dominant power group,” the lawsuit states.
He handed Diaz, who is Latino, a copy of the Continuum of Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization — a chart that outlines the six phases of becoming an anti-racist multicultural department.
“I can’t fix all of this,” Diaz responded, according to the lawsuit.
Greening raised concerns he had about discriminatory practices at Seattle Police, including those allegedly committed by Diaz, with human resources and the city ombuds office in 2022 and 2023.
In January 2023, Greening asked Diaz to release him of his responsibilities as lead of the department’s race and social justice team, a role no white person has ever held.
Then he handed Diaz a research article about cultural taxation.
After this meeting Greening claims that Diaz soured against him.
When Diaz was made permanent chief in January 2023, and on the hunt for a deputy, Greening told Diaz about his interest in the position and applied.
Diaz ignored his request and chose Eric Barden, a white man, instead.
Diaz demoted Greening in July, which resulted in a $27,000 pay cut and reduced the value of future pension payments.
Diaz abolished the outreach bureau that Greening led for two years, and moved him to the Force Review Unit, where he oversaw less than 10 employees and had no contact with the public.
Greening filed a retaliation complaint against Diaz with Seattle’s Office of Inspector General for Public Safety two months after his demotion, in September. An outside attorney has been hired to investigate the complaint.
But like other complaints made against Diaz, there’s been no resolution.
Last July, several Office of Police Accountability complaints accused Diaz of hiring a woman he allegedly had an affair with to be a top-level advisor. The case has remained at the intake level for 10 months — a long time when compared to complaints against members of the Seattle Police Officer Guild, which are held to an intake deadline of 30 days.
Diaz has faced no immediate consequences despite seven colleagues and four lawsuits coming out against him.
Mayor Harrell said in April that he would hire an outside consultant to examine sexism and harassment allegations against Diaz, but that it could take “months and months” because he wanted to allow for “due process.”
Three city council members have made statements about their concern over these allegations, chief among them Rob Saka, who was the first to speak out vociferously.
“That type of behavior has no place in our police department,” he wrote. “I plan to exercise my oversight authority to get to the bottom of these culture issues. To that end, I support the women on the force and plan to be in conversation about what we can do as a city to better support them.”
With the calendar flipping to May and first month of the MLB season in the books, it’s a good time to check in on some notable former Seattle Mariners to see how they’re doing with new teams.
How Seattle Mariners’ ABS usage stacks up with rest of MLB
As it turns out, a number of players who were with the Mariners last season and on new teams this year are currently injured, including some names that didn’t make the cut for the list below like Caleb Ferguson and Tyler Locklear.
Below is a look at how several notable former Mariners have fared through the first month of the 2026 campaign.
Jorge Polanco
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets during the offseason, got off to a slow start with his new team and is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist contusion. He was also playing through left Achilles bursitis before landing on the IL.
In 14 games, the switch-hitting Polanco is slashing .179/.246/.286 with a .532 OPS, one homer, three doubles, five walks and 11 strikeouts.
Eugenio Suárez
Suárez, a fan favorite in Seattle who signed a one-year, $15 million deal to return to the Cincinnati Reds during the offseason, was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left oblique strain. Before landing on the IL, he was also off to a bit of a slow start.
In 25 games, Suárez is slashing .231/.300/.363 with a .663 OPS, three homers, three doubles, nine walks and 30 strikeouts.
Harry Ford
Ford, who was traded to the Washington Nationals in an offseason deal that brought left-hander Jose A. Ferrer to Seattle, was assigned to Triple-A at the start of the season and has struggled at the plate early on.
In 20 games with Triple-A Rochester, he’s slashing .182/.289/.221 with a .510 OPS, three doubles, 10 walks and 26 strikeouts. Ford produced an .868 OPS and hit 16 homers in 97 games with Triple-A Tacoma last year.
Leody Taveras
Taveras, who struggled to find his footing in 28 games with the Mariners last season, isn’t necessarily a notable former Mariner, but he stands out due to the rebound season he’s starting to put together with the Baltimore Orioles following two rough years at the plate.
After signing a one-year deal with Baltimore in the offseason, Taveras is slashing .288/.397/.455 with an .852 OPS, two homers, three doubles, one triple, 12 walks and 16 strikeouts. He’s also tied for third on the team with 17 RBIs.
Tayler Saucedo
Saucedo, a product of Maple Valley’s Tahoma High School, was designated for assignment during the offseason before signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. He is currently pitching for Triple-A Salt Lake.
Saucedo has a 4.85 ERA and has struck out 13 batters over 13 innings in 11 appearances. He’s allowed seven runs on 12 hits and 10 walks.
Dylan Moore
Moore, who was the longest-tenured Mariners player when he was released amid a career-worst slump in August 2025, signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies over the offseason and was awarded a major-league deal after opting out of his initial contract in March.
Moore is still in search of his first hit with the Phillies. He’s 0 for 11 at the plate with three walks and five strikeouts in 13 games.
Trent Thornton
Thornton, who missed the final two months of last season with a torn left Achilles, elected free agency after being non-tendered by the M’s over the offseason. He signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs and was recently activated to Triple-A Iowa for his first game action since the Achilles injury.
In two outings (one start), Thornton has struck out four batters and allowed one run on three hits and one walk over 3 2/3 innings.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• How can Kade Anderson help Seattle Mariners this year? Passan’s take
• Two things we know, two questions we have a month into Mariners’ season
• Where things stand with Seattle Mariners’ Brendan Donovan, Bryce Miller
• Seattle Mariners’ Matt Brash details side issue, doesn’t think it’s serious
• White Sox call up Jarred Kelenic before playing Seattle Mariners next week
The Seattle Seahawks have an extensive history of taller cornerbacks on the roster, but not this tall.
The only reason why this is notable is because Broden was measured at just over 6’5 and weighed under 200 pounds. In addition to Broden’s height, he ran a reported 4.37 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. For context, Broden is taller than Richard Sherman (6’3), Riq Woolen (6’4), and Brandon Browner (6’4). Other reports of Broden’s height (including from Tyrone himself) have him up to 6’7. Unsurprisingly, Broden did not have any prior experience at corner during his college football days, and there’s nothing to indicate he had any cornerback work in high school.
At receiver, his chances of making the active roster are slim and none given the competition ahead of him, so why not have some fun experimentation? I’m not banking on it being much of anything, but I hope it continues into training camp so that fans can see this in person.
The Seattle Mariners have two notable players on the injured list that are nearing their returns.
Mariners’ Matt Brash details side issue, doesn’t think it’s serious
Here’s a quick look at what we know about the statuses of third baseman Brendan Donovan and Bryce Miller.
Brendan Donovan
Donovan has been out of action with a left groin strain since April 18, but could be just days away from getting back in the Mariners’ lineup. The 29-year-old All-Star has reached the minimum amount for a stay on the 10-day injured list.
“The progression has gone as hoped, and he’s taken swings. I think he looks like he’s on pace to be back during the homestand at some point,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Tuesday.
Donovan was the Mariners’ key offseason acquisition, landing in Seattle from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade that also involved the Tampa Bay Rays.
Donovan underwent sports hernia surgery in October and had a few periods where he missed games in April due to injury or illness.
When Donovan has been on the field, he’s been Seattle’s primary leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching and among the team’s best offensive producers. He has a .304/.437/.518 slash line for a .954 OPS with three home runs in 18 games this year.
Bryce Miller
Still working his way back after oblique inflammation derailed his spring training, Miller is expected to make the third start of his minor league rehab assignment Friday in the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers’ home game against the Las Vegas Aviators at Cheney Stadium.
The Mariners will have a tough decision to make with their starting rotation when Miller returns, as Emerson Hancock (2.86 ERA, 0.981 WHIP) has been great thus far filling in for Miller. Seattle has some time before a decision needs to be made, though.
For one, Miller isn’t fully stretched out, throwing only 47 pitches and three innings in his second rehab start last Friday with the High-A Everett AquaSox. And second, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said that the M’s were likely to use the full 30 days allowed on Miller’s rehab stint, which would put him on pace to join the team in mid-May.
Seattle Mariners news and analysis
• Cole Young continues breakout as Mariners win another series
• White Sox call up Jarred Kelenic before playing Mariners next week
• Julio: When it’s clicking, Mariners ‘one of the best teams in baseball’
• Luis Castillo is in a tough spot in Mariners’ rotation
• Seattle Mariners seeing early payoff from Jose Ferrer trade
-
West Virginia5 minutes agoState police investigating I-79 southbound crash in Monongalia County – WV MetroNews
-
Wyoming11 minutes agoWyoming Game and Fish rolls out new tool to monitor sage grouse
-
Crypto17 minutes agoGrok, ChatGPT, Claude — 11 AI Models Project Bitcoin Hits $84K to $118K by End of 2026
-
Finance22 minutes agoBessent wants Americans to avoid easy-money traps and invest in financial literacy
-
Fitness28 minutes agoHow Heidi Klum stays fit and strong at 52 – ‘I never exercise too much’
-
Movie Reviews40 minutes agoMovie Review: “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” is likely to remind horror fans of better movies – The Independent | Southern Utah’s #1 Source for Arts, Events & Entertainment
-
World53 minutes agoUS adds Vietnam and EU, removes Argentina, Mexico from trade investigation watchlists
-
News59 minutes agoJury Convicts Florida Ex-Rep. David Rivera in Conspiracy Trial