Lieutenant Jessica Taylor, a 23-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, has sounded the alarm on the current state of the city and local lawmakers in a 15-page resignation letter to Police Chief Adrian Diaz. Taylor, who suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia, a chronic facial pain condition, refused to fill out the standard Exit Form and instead offered an “unfiltered, raw, and unapologetic” description of why she decided to retire from the department.
In her letter, Taylor slammed the Seattle city council as being out of touch with reality and making decisions that defy common sense and basic logic, while prioritizing playing politics and pandering to radical ideologies over genuinely serving the city’s and its residents’ best interests. She went on to criticize Mayor Bruce Harrell for lacking the courage to take on the council and enforce the law, instead of taking decisive action to protect the city and its citizens.
Taylor warned that the toxic mix of the Seattle City Council’s absurdity, the spinelessness of the Mayor, the leniency of the prosecutor’s office, and the failed leadership of Chief Diaz have accelerated this city’s downhill slide straight to rock bottom. She declared that Seattle is now suffering from “a perfect storm of incompetence and chaos,” and has become a laughingstock of the nation and the globe, with international news outlets criticizing the city’s permissive nature towards criminals.
While Taylor was not permitted to work due to her medical condition, the department was under siege from council members seeking to defund it. While the council debated how to cut 50% from the department’s budget, cops were being demonized by the most radical councilmembers. Since then, almost 600 officers have left the department, leading to dangerous understaffing, long hours, and unsafe working conditions.
Taylor’s resignation was a bittersweet moment, as she got into policing to help her community, but felt she wasn’t able to anymore. She praised her coworkers as being incredibly dedicated, brave, professional, and “exceptional, exceptional people.” Now living in Tri-Cities with a job outside of law enforcement, Taylor still cares deeply for the Seattle community, and had a message for residents: “The officers on the street are the backbone of this department. And they’ll do everything that they can and fight tooth and nail to make sure that the public is taken care of.”
As Seattle continues to spiral into anarchy and chaos, it remains to be seen whether the city council and Mayor Harrell will wake up to the reality of their failed leadership or continue to prioritize political correctness over the safety and well-being of their people.
