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Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s staff abruptly ended an interview with a local news reporter this week after he pressed her on rising gun violence and surveillance cameras in the city following a recent shooting.
Chris Daniels of KOMO News asked Wilson about community concerns over increasing gun violence and whether additional surveillance measures might be reconsidered. The mayor was quickly cut off mid-response by a member of her staff.
“I appreciate it, but let’s keep it on topic, OK?” the staffer told Daniels, stepping in as Wilson appeared poised to respond to a question about whether the shooting would change her stance on surveillance cameras.
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Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson was pressed by a local reporter about public safety and surveillance policies in the city following a recent shooting. (Katie Wilson for Seattle)
Wilson had earlier addressed the shooting, saying there was no indication it was targeted and framing the incident within broader public safety challenges facing the city.
“I’ll just say, you know, we don’t have any indication that that shooting was targeted or anything like that,” she told Daniels.
Daniels continued to press the issue, citing concerns from residents who say gun violence has increased and that more surveillance could help deter crime. He was quickly interrupted by Wilson’s staffer.
“We just need to keep it within the constraints of the event itself,” the staffer said.
Daniels challenged the interruption, arguing the question was relevant to public concerns and the mayor’s recent experience, telling the staffer, “It looks worse when you jump in like that.”
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A staffer stepped in to end questioning during an exchange between Mayor Katie Wilson and KOMO News reporter Chris Daniels over surveillance and crime concerns. (KCPQ)
Following the exchange, Wilson later addressed the surveillance question directly, saying the incident did not alter her position.
“Not really,” she said when asked whether the shooting changed her perspective on expanding surveillance.
“I believe that CCTV cameras have an important role to play in our public safety system,” Wilson said. “We also have to be very careful to make sure that our data storage, security, sharing practices don’t make that system vulnerable to misuse and abuse.”
She pointed to potential risks involving federal authorities and other actors accessing such data, “Whether that’s by federal immigration enforcement, or by other bad actors,”
Wilson said the city is conducting a review before expanding surveillance measures, adding, “That is why we are doing a data and privacy audit before we move forward with expanding CCTV surveillance in the city.”
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Crime and gun violence in Seattle has raised questions about whether more surveillance cameras are needed throughout the city. (Chris Helgren/Reuters)
The self-described democratic socialist mayor made headlines recently by bidding farewell to millionaires who are considering leaving the city over a recently passed tax passed by Washington state Democrats, waving “bye” to wealthy residents when asked about the topic during a Seattle University event earlier this month.
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Digital reached out to Mayor Wilson for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
