According to SPD Guild Vice President J. D. Miller, under outgoing Chief Norm Stamper, officers "feel they have no relationship with and are not valued by the department."
"Things are highly charged," says City Council Member Peter Steinbrueck. "How we perform here is going to be closely watched -- especially the mayor. The current relationship [between the mayor and the police] has what I perceive to be a high level of animosity. I think there's a need for damage repair that can be accomplished through this. Whether that happens remains to be seen."
The process for finding a new chief, expected to be outlined by Schell next week, is going to be modeled on the national search that netted Stamper.