Seattle Police Chief Apologizes for Denny Blaine Raid

Nude Tanning Is Not "Indecent Exposure."

In a public meeting Wednesday evening, Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said his officers were wrong when they told Denny Blaine beach goers Sunday that they could not be nude on the beach. But save your applause: Barnes then attempted to justify his officers' decision to temporarily ban a transgender woman from the beach when she refused to comply with an officer's order for her to put on her clothes. 

In front of a room full of 100 or so peeved queer people and middle aged Leschi residents, Barnes clumsily explained that his officer had trespassed the woman for violating Seattle parks code of conduct, and issued her a one week ban the same way a park ranger would have done. The woman immediately fact checked him — turns out she was in the room. She said the officer did not give her any official citation, just handed her a business card. 

Colleen Kimseylove, co-lead of Friends of Denny Blaine, also interjected and said that the officers trespassed the woman despite the fact that she wasn't behaving indecently and was simply lying naked in the sun, evidenced by witness accounts and photos of the incident.

Barnes then said the trespass order would be rescinded. The woman clarified with Barnes and asked if she was allowed in the park, Barnes said, "Yes," and the room erupted in applause.

Barnes confirmed OPA had launched an investigation into the actions of officers, which I reported earlier this week. Barnes also repeated a promise to end to "directed patrols," at Denny Blaine. He said he planned to have Park Rangers do more of the work to resolve complaints about nudity at Denny Blaine.

The crowd at one point demanded an apology from Barnes, and he responded he'd already apologized. Later, he apologized to anyone who might have been offended by what happened Sunday.

Kimseylove called the entire meeting disappointing. They became frustrated when the chief droned on for the first half hour of the meeting, reciting his "CV," as Kimseylove put it. And he dodged the advocates demand that SPD promise to never ban someone over nudity again, leaving the possibility for more crackdowns open. 

On the whole, Kimseylove wished Barnes showed more interest in engaging with Friends of Denny Blaine on how best to keep the beach safe and nude in the future.