Carmen Best facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carmen Best
Best in 2018
Chief of the Seattle Police Department
In office August 13, 2018 – September 2, 2020
Mayor	Jenny Durkan
Preceded by	Kathleen O'Toole
Succeeded by	Adrian Diaz
Personal details
Born	c. 1965 (age 59–60) Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Education	Northeastern University (MS)

Carmen Best (born around 1965) is an American former law enforcement officer. She served as the chief of police for the Seattle Police Department from 2018 to 2020. She was the first Black woman to lead Seattle's police force.

Best was chief during the George Floyd protests in 2020. She announced her resignation in August 2020. This happened after budget cuts affected the police department. She officially left her role on September 2, 2020. Today, Best works as a Director of Global Security Risk Operations at Microsoft.

Early Life and Education

Carmen Best was born in Tacoma, Washington. She went to Lincoln High School there.

She earned a certificate in police management from the University of Washington. She also got a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University. Best completed special training programs. These included programs at the FBI National Executive Institute and the FBI National Academy.

Career Highlights

Best joined the Seattle Police Department in 1992. Before becoming chief, she held many different roles. She was an officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and deputy chief.

She became the interim (temporary) chief of police on January 1, 2018. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan later appointed her as the permanent chief. This appointment became official on August 13, 2018. With this, she made history as the first Black woman to lead Seattle's police force.

Leading During Protests

Best was the chief of police during the 2020 George Floyd Protests. These protests took place in Seattle and across the country. During some protests, police used tools like pepper spray and flash bang grenades. This led to many complaints about the use of force.

On June 5, 2020, Mayor Jenny Durkan and Chief Best announced a temporary ban on tear gas. However, tear gas was used again a few days later. Best explained that the ban had exceptions for certain situations.

A decision was made to have officers leave the East Precinct building. This led to the creation of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP).

Text Messages and Resignation

Later, it was found that Chief Best had deleted many text messages. These messages were from her city-owned phone during the June 2020 protests. She said the messages were not important. However, the city was facing lawsuits and requests for public records. This meant she was legally required to keep the messages.

Deleting the texts went against state law. However, in September 2023, prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges. They said it was a problem with record-keeping systems and training. The City of Seattle later paid $600,000 in a lawsuit. This was because texts were deleted by Best and other city leaders.

On August 1, 2020, a group of protestors marched near Best's home. Her neighbors helped block the group.

On August 10, 2020, the Seattle City Council voted to reduce the police department's size. This meant about 100 officers would be laid off. Best resigned after this vote. She explained that she could not reduce the department, especially since it would affect diversity. Police union rules meant the newest hires would be laid off first. Many of these newer officers were people of color. Assistant Chief Adrian Z. Diaz took over as interim chief.

After Her Time as Chief

After leaving the police department, Carmen Best joined KING-TV. She worked as a law enforcement analyst. In 2021, she published a book titled Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation.

In 2021, there were reports that Best might become the first woman to lead the New York City Police Department. However, she was not chosen for that role.