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.”
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Seattle, WA
Outreach groups respond to the reported relocation cycle of Ballard’s homeless population
SEATTLE — As people voice concerns about an encampment in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, outreach groups are detailing their efforts and fighting back against encampment removals.
The outreach group We Heart Seattle said it checks on the people in an encampment of at least 20 people weekly to offer water, snacks, personal hygiene items, and access to treatment.
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The group told KOMO it believes more can be done at the city level, from policy to housing, to get the homeless connected with shelter and services.
A woman working at the Fred Meyer off NW 45th Street and 9th Avenue captured video of a fire near tents at an encampment across the street. A day later, off camera, she told KOMO News she worries about the safety of the people living in the tents and Ballard neighbors, in addition to concerns about alleged open-air drug use at the encampment.
“We became homeless because of certain situations, and we turned to drugs, and unfortunately, addiction comes next, you know?” Crystal Rawlings told KOMO News. She has set up her tent on multiple streets in Ballard, and said she’s approaching one year of being opioid-free.
She believes there’s been more city outreach since the start of the new mayoral administration to connect people living on the streets with services, but knows there’s not enough transitional housing for everyone who needs or wants it.
She and the Ballard Community Task Force on Homelessness and Hunger urge the city to stop encampment removals that push this group to another block.
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“We’re not abominations. We’re not obstructions, and we’re not trash, so stop sweeping us,” Rawlings stated.
The city is still aiming to reach Mayor Katie Wilson’s goal of adding 1,000 new units of shelter in 2026 and recently opened a tiny home village in nearby Interbay, but fell short of the goal of 500 new units by June.
Andrea Suarez with We Heart Seattle estimates at least 20 people living on the street keep getting moved around Ballard, from behind the Albert Lee store to Leary Avenue to NW 45th Street behind the Fred Meyer.
“This encampment has people that’ve been homeless for more than five years. We know their names and faces. They’re still here. They’re still stuck in late-phase addiction, frankly because it’s permitted,” Suarez explained.
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She believes a camping ban on city sidewalks would help encourage more people to accept shelter, and help stop the cycle of moving people without
“It is an underserved community. I think it is unfair,” Suarez added. “We’ve tried to balance between enablement and really giving people a hand up, but without the teeth and backup for the work of outreach workers, it starts to feel futile, and that’s why we get burned out.”
The mayor’s office was working to send data about its homeless response in Ballard as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Ballard Community Task Force on Homelessness and Hunger estimates there have been nine Ballard-area encampment removals so far this year.
SEATTLE – Wednesday will be another warm day with highs in the mid to upper 80s for parts of western Washington. Eastern and central Washington will reach near 100F with high fire danger. The coast and north interior will be cooler, only in the 60s to 70s.
Wednesday will be another warm day with highs in the mid to upper 80s for parts of western Washington.
Fire Weather Watch
A Fire Weather Watch goes into effect Wednesday evening through Thursday evening for thunderstorms and gusty winds. Lightning strikes could create new fire starts and, with very dry conditions in place, any new fire could spread quickly.
A Fire Weather Watch goes into effect Wednesday evening through Thursday evening for thunderstorms and gusty winds.
What’s next:
An upper level low will move into the Pacific Northwest, bringing scattered showers and a chance of thunderstorms. The heaviest showers will be in the morning hours and will turn more scattered into the evening hours.
An upper level low will move into the Pacific Northwest, bringing scattered showers and chance of thunderstorms.
Looking Ahead:
High pressure will build again Friday and into the weekend, increasing temperatures and sunshine. We will start to see highs reach the upper 80s to low 90s by early next week.
High pressure will build again Friday and into the weekend, increasing temperatures and sunshine.
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After so many disappointing seasons with the interior offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks made a commitment last offseason to improve the unit. They started one big step at a time by drafting North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel in the first round, 18th overall pick, of the 2025 NFL Draft. This one was one of the last steps for the Seahawks to create one of the most productive offenses in the NFL.
Zabel wasn’t perfect in his rookie season, but he was good enough to validate the decision to draft him in the first round, and he showed improvement. Zabel is already a favorite among some Seahawks fans and some media outlets as they love his determination and spirit. It was a big jump from the FCS collegiate level to the NFL and this season, he has a chance to show why he might be a top-half-of-the-league guard.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Higher?
The Seahawks wanted a determined workhorse when looking for a guard. That’s exactly what they got in Zabel. Last season, he appeared in 1,051 snaps, which is only 10 fewer snaps than right tackle Abraham Lucas, who had the most offensive snaps. Zabel got better as the season progressed. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 81.5 and a run-block grade of 81.2 in Week 14 through the NFC Championship Game.
There were times last season when he looked like a monster against several defenders. He was pushing some defenders completely out of the way on pulling plays and even ran to defenders after the pass-catcher caught the ball. This is the mentality the Seahawks expect him to have going into his second season in the league. He has more experience and the complete trust of the team to be a franchise player on par with Lucas and left tackle Charles Cross. If he continues to improve, he will be another steal for the Seahawks.
Why Zabel Could Be Ranked Lower?
There were times last season when he didn’t quite catch up to the learning curve of the NFL. Zabel allowed two sacks, four hits and 24 pressures in 2025. The Seahawks expect those numbers to decrease significantly as he is experienced and capable of playing at an efficient level. While Zabel is impressive, he might not be the best player the Seahawks have selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. That honor belongs to slot cornerback Nick Emmanwori, who is stepping up to be the steal of the draft.
Zabel is easily one of the best second-year players and is one of the top offensive linemen, but there are players behind him because they haven’t proven to be consistently explosive for the Seahawks. There is going to be even more pressure on him this upcoming season. The Seahawks hired a more run-friendly coach in Brian Fleury as offensive coordinator. His ranking at the end of the season might be much better if he improves, or worse if he fails to reach expectations.
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