Shon Barnes
Shon Barnes | |
|---|---|
| Chief of the Seattle Police Department | |
| Assumed office January 31, 2025 | |
| Mayor | Bruce Harrell |
| Preceded by | Sue Rahr |
| Personal details | |
| Education | Elizabeth City State University (BA) University of Cincinnati (MS) North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (PhD) |
Shon Barnes is an American law enforcement officer, who has been the chief of the Seattle Police Department since 2025. Previously he served as the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin. He has also been a history teacher.
On May 24, 2025, Barnes directed an escalation using bicycle-mounted officers to charge protesters at a counter-protest of a fundamentalist church group's rally at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill, a historical LGBTQ district of Seattle. Several people were injured during the arrest. Seven of the twenty three arrested protestors were subsequently released by a judge on May 26, 2025.