WMW host, David Rose, goes 1 on 1 with new Seattle police interim chief

BAILEYSEATTLE -- It's a new era and new leadership for the Seattle Police Department. Harry Bailey, who spent 35 years with SPD, is now back in uniform after being appointed by mayor Ed Murray to serve as interim chief. Washington’s Most Wanted host, David Rose had an opportunity to talk with him about his focus and plans for the department. Q: What can we expect from you over these next several months? A: "I think you can expect a commitment from me, to one, push reform, I hate to keep saying it but that's the truth, to keep pushing reform forward, to be out with those officers letting them know this is what I intend for them to do, they need to hear from me and my command staff just what we want from them and how we want them to go about doing it." Q: Do you want this job permanently? A: “Absolutely not. I think I'm in the catbird seat. I do know the Mayor is looking for a permanent Chief and I know that when that's done, whoever he or she may be that they will have a police department that they will continue to move reform forward, make those connections back with the community and be able to carry this department forward. That's my goal.” Q: There's been a sense that some officers are not being as proactive as they could because they don't want a ‘beef’, they don't want to fill out the paperwork or be under a microscope. I'm sure you've heard that within your department. How do you change that? A: “I think you change it by example and I just don't think that it is happening here. I think when that when tone alert goes off, I think every officer in this department is going to respond and respond quickly, but you change it by modeling and that's going to be the mantra for me that whatever happens in this police department, it starts from the top down." Q: As you didn't play an active for in law enforcement for a number of years, you saw what was happening with the department, what was going through your mind? A: "One of the things that I kind of hated and that is that we lost our relationships, we at this department, we always had a strong relastionship with the community and I saw that begin to slip a little bit and so community policing was not in the forefront at least in my opinion and so that led me to believe that we were going to be in trouble here pretty quickly." Q: Finally Chief, what's your message to the citizens of Seattle today? A: "The message to the citizens of Seattle is that this is a good city, it's going to be an even better city and we need you to re-engage with us to make us better.”