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Like many police chiefs in Democrat-run cities, Seattle police chief Carmen Best has a thankless job. She’s not appreciated by the city council and has a strained relationship with feckless Mayor Jenny Durkan at best. From what I’ve read of the police chief, she walks a tightrope between trying to work well with the local officials who routinely disrespect her profession and the police officers whose respect she has earned from over nearly three decades of service to the city of Seattle.

Unlike city “leaders” like Durkan and Democratic council members, Best kept it real and never gaslit anyone about the dire, dangerous situation the CHAZ/CHOP encampment presented, nor did she blame her fellow officers for Mayor Durkan’s leadership failures, which led to the East precinct being taken over by Black Lives Matter and Antifa radicals and the 525% crime spike that followed.

Best has also been very vocal in criticizing the city council for their efforts to defund the police, and has talked often about how devastating it would be to the city at a time when violent crime is on the rise, with dangerous criminals being inspired by the lawlessness that was allowed to go on for a month at CHOP.

Because Best has been unafraid to speak up in defense of her fellow officers and their commitment to protecting the city despite its hostility towards them, the Democrat-run city council has decided to show their respect for black voices and women by voting to slash the salary of Seattle’s first black female police chief:

The Seattle City Council on Wednesday rebuffed two proposals to slash funding to the Seattle Police Department but the panel did approve a plan to dismantle the agency Navigation Team, which works with the homeless, and trim the pay for some of the department’s top brass, including Chief Carmen Best.

[…]

After rejecting the pair of [socialist Councilwoman Kshama] Sawant ordinances to slash the police budget by 50 percent, the council did approve measures to [trim] the pay of 13 high-ranking police officers, a measure that Sawant said would save about $500,000 this year.

Best’s attorney was livid:

Chief Carmen Best’s attorney Anne Bremner says the move is purely retaliatory in nature, and a result of Chief Best criticizing the council and the defund movement.

[…]

“She and Jenny Durkan gave a press conference where they were critical of the council. In my view, this was retaliation because as soon as they did that, the council — in a vote that was not publicized, that was not on the agenda publicly — voted to reduce her salary. This is the first black female police chief in the country. Her salary was reduced to $100,000 less than a white woman chief’s salary, namely Kathleen O’Toole.”

Is this illegal?

“Those are things we’re looking at right now because she had a contract … Seattle needs to pay attention to this situation. And, of course, the wider situation that we’re in right now, which is like the Wall Street Journal article headline I saw the other day that said Lawlessness Again in Seattle,” she said.

I hope they sue the city for every penny it’s worth and hoists the so-called “leaders” by their own miserable petards. There’s no way to view this as anything else outside of straight-up retaliation, punishing Best for speaking out. Disgusting.