Seattle, WA
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.
SEATTLE (AP) — Sam Darnold connected with a well-covered Justin Jefferson with 3:51 left for his third TD pass of the game, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks 27-24 on Sunday to keep pace with Detroit for the top spot in the NFC.
After the Seahawks took the lead on Smith’s third TD pass, Darnold led a 30-second drive that was aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty. He stepped up in a collapsing pocket and launched a deep ball that Jefferson hauled in just short of the goal line with two defenders closing in.
Jefferson finished with 10 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings (13-2) won their eighth straight. If they can beat Green Bay and Detroit to close out the season, they will earn the top seed in the conference and a first-round playoff bye.
Darnold threw for multiple touchdowns for the 11th time this season and more than 200 yards for the 10th. He finished 22 of 35 for 246 yards, helping Kevin O’Connell become the first Vikings coach with multiple 13-win seasons.
Not bad for a veteran who was signed to a one-year deal as a placeholder after the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.
Smith threw for 314 yards and his 4-yard TD pass to AJ Barner gave the Seahawks a 24-20 lead with 4:41 left, but he couldn’t rally Seattle (8-7) after Jefferson’s TD catch. Jason Myers missed a 60-yard field goal try after the two-minute warning, and Theo Jackson picked off Smith with 49 seconds left to seal it.
The Seahawks have lost two straight after a four-game winning streak and fell one game behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
Smith also had scoring passes of 25 yards to DK Metcalf and 18 yards to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was also intercepted twice. Smith-Njigba had eight receptions for 95 yards.
Minnesota improved to 8-1 in one-score games this season.
The Vikings ran a 12-play opening drive, consuming 6:54 on the way to a 7-0 lead on Darnold’s 5-yard pass to Jordan Addison, who was open in the middle of the end zone for his third catch of the series.
Smith found Metcalf in man-to-man coverage with Stefon Gilmore early in the second quarter in the right corner of the end zone. It was Metcalf’s first TD reception since Week 7.
Darnold responded two drives later to make it 14-7 on a 14-yard pass to Jefferson over Tre Brown, who was left in single coverage on the All-Pro’s corner route.
Joshua Metellus pressured Smith on the first play of Seattle’s ensuing drive and Dallas Turner stepped in front of a pass to Noah Fant for an interception that set up Minnesota at the Seattle 31. The Vikings settled for Will Reichard’s 52-yard field goal after Boye Mafe sacked Darnold.
Smith drove the Seahawks 88 yards in 1:05 on five plays to cut the lead to 17-14 with 20 seconds left in the half. He found Smith-Njigba three times on the drive. The first, a 13-yard reception, put the second-year player over 1,000 yards receiving for the first time. The second, for 25 yards to the Vikings 18, drew a biceps flex from Smith-Njigba for the cheering crowd. And the third went for the score.
Receiving milestones
Metcalf shook off a long scoreless streak to catch his 47th career TD with the Seahawks. That helped him pass Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent and move into sixth on the team’s career touchdown list.
Smith-Njigba became the 10th Seahawks receiver to record a 1,000-yard season.
Injuries
Vikings: S Harrison Smith (foot) was inactive, missing a game for the first time since 2022.
Seahawks: Placed LB Trevis Gipson (ankle) on injured reserve. … RB Kenneth Walker III left the game with an ankle injury.
Up next
Vikings: Host Green Bay next Sunday.
Seahawks: At Chicago on Thursday.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
The Seattle Mariners, in need of some help at first base this offseason, are at risk of being left out in the cold.
The M’s have Luke Raley already at first, but he could stand a right-handed hitting platoon partner. In the last few days, several options have come off the board as Christian Walker signed with the Houston Astros, Paul Goldschmidt signed with the New York Yankees, Josh Naylor was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Carlos Santana signed with the Cleveland Guardians.
The Santana news was especially devastating, as it seemed like a reunion with him was essentially a lay-up earlier in the offseason.
Pete Alonso is still on the market, but the Mariners seem unwilling to meet the asking price for him. Thus, the options are dwindling rapidly, with Jeff Passan of ESPN taking stock of where the market is at right now:
Over the last 24 hours:
Christian Walker to Houston
Paul Goldschmidt to the New York Yankees
Josh Naylor to Arizona
Carlos Santana to Cleveland
1B still available in free agency: Pete Alonso, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Ty France. In trades: LaMonte Wade Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe.
Over the last 24 hours:
Christian Walker to Houston 1B still available in free agency: Pete Alonso, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell, Ty France. In trades: LaMonte Wade Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2024
Paul Goldschmidt to the New York Yankees
Josh Naylor to Arizona
Carlos Santana to Cleveland
Rizzo is out because the M’s don’t need a left-hander. Again, Alonso is likely out because of money. France, who was DFA’d by the Mariners in July, could be a possibility on the short side of the platoon with Raley. Justin Turner was omitted from that list, but he also remains a reunion possibility for Seattle.
In 48 games with the Mariners after a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays this past season, he hit .264 with five homers, 24 RBI and a .363 on-base percentage. He helped the M’s get to within one game of the playoffs.
For the season as a whole, he hit .259 with 11 homers.
Turner just finished the 16th year of his career with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners. He’s a .285 lifetime hitter who helped the Dodgers win the World Series in 2020. He just turned 40 years old.
As for France, after being acquired by the Mariners during the COVID 2020 season, he was a firm part of the team’s rebuild, earning an All-Star appearance in 2022 and helping the team break the long playoff drought.
However, France slumped to a poor 2023 and also struggled in 2024 before being designated for assignment. He latched on with the Cincinnati Reds for the final 52 games of the season.
Lifetime, France is a .263 hitter. He hit .250 with the Mariners in 2023 but saw his power dissipate, hitting only 12 homers. He had just eight homers in 88 games for Seattle this year. He did hit five in Cincinnati. He’s still only 30 years old.
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:
The Vegas Golden Knights (22-8-3) won their fifth straight game at home with a 6-2 victory against the Seattle Kraken (15-18-2) on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Vince Dunn gave Seattle an early lead with a power-play goal 2:34 into the first period. Victor Olofsson found a wide-open Keegan Kolesar who scored the tying goal to make it 1-1 with 7:21 to play in the period. A little over a minute later, Brett Howden tacked on his 12th goal of the season to make it 2-1. Nicolas Hague scored his second goal of the season late in the frame to give Vegas a 3-1 lead heading into the second period. After a scoreless second period, William Karlsson tallied a goal 8:09 into the third period. Three minutes later, Noah Hanifin joined the goal party to increase the score to 5-1. Jaden Schwartz scored Seattle’s second power-play goal of the night, but Mark Stone sealed the 6-2 victory for Vegas with an empty-net goal. Ilya Samsonov stopped 21-of-23 shots.
TOP PERFORMERS
Keegan Kolesar: Kolesar tied his career-high goals (8G) with his game-tying goal in the first period. Kolesar also recorded a two-point night (1G, 1A) to have three multi-point games on the season.
Brett Howden: Howden scored the go-ahead goal in the first period increasing his career-high goal total to 12. With two points (1G, 1A) in the game, Howden has recorded back-to-back multi-point games and his fifth overall this season.
Victor Olofsson: With his assist in the first period, Olofsson has recorded seven points in seven games.
Mark Stone: Stone notched three points (1G, 2A) in the win. Stone has registered a point in 17-of-19 games played.
VGK STATS OF THE KNIGHT
Head Coach Bruce Cassidy tied Gerard Gallant for most wins in VGK history with 118 wins.
Pavel Dorofeyev skated in his 100th career game on Saturday night.
Jack Eichel tallied two assists on the night, bringing his season total to 35. Eichel reached the 35-assist mark in 33 games, surpassing Mark Stone (43 GP) as the fastest player in franchise to hit 35 assists in a season.
Vegas saw six different goal scorers in Saturday’s win. This is the third time this season Vegas has had six different goal scorers in a game (Oct. 26 vs. SJS and Nov. 23 vs. MTL)
ATTENDANCE: 17,862
LOOKING AHEAD
The Golden Knights close out the homestand on Monday when they face off against the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Watch the game on Vegas 34, stream on KnightTime+, or listen live on FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
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