Oh, for a second, I thought that headline was your abrupt resignation. The real story will do fine.

I worked with Sgt. Whitcomb during the Oso incident response. He is awesome--hope they fill these spots with folks like him.

I've heard that Whitcomb is actually back from exile but haven't seen that confirmed anywhere. Kappel and Jamieson were incompetent and an embarrassment. Finally some good news for SPD...

So these horrible officers will now be investigating crimes? Sounds as we can look forward to botched investgations.

dittoing the love for Whitcomb and hoping he is indeed back. But, w/thatsnotright @4: sending them to criminal investigations?

Wonder if the number of abusive comments will now go down.

6 FTW!

I think Sean did great work in his pre-exile position, and I repeatedly heard him express views about the need for departmental transparency with which I agreed.

I think I met one of the two other guys at one of SPD's mesh network show-and-tell meetings last year. I forgot which. He was sitting next to me in street clothes, and at some point, I asked if we'd met. His initial response was, "You don't know who I am?" I think he expected I'd know him as a local TV celebrity or something. Someone later pointed out to me that he was one of SPD's PR people.

I can't comment on the wisdom of moving Kappel and Jamieson to the criminal investigations unit, but bringing Whitcomb out the basement and back into the role of department spokesperson is a great move.

@6 for everyone but you Balio.

I'm sure you're an absolute joy to work with too.

I saw a Whitcomb quote in the ST yesterday and had my fingers crossed.

Great news!

It was nice of Sergeant Whitcomb to call back. In regard to the tone, he has a point. You risk getting the reputation as hot head Dom.

The fact, that I, an NYC resident, know a Seattle Police spokesman by name speaks volumes to the professionalism of Sgt. Whitcomb. Now if only NYPD would follow suit...

Go Whitcomb! I've seen several quotes from him in these pages that were clever and funny. I always have to re-read a couple of paragraphs to convince myself that it's the police dept. spokesman talking.

The reason that these two guys have refused to cooperate with Holden is precisely because of Helden's "tone". Holden has no one but himself to blame for this sour relationship.

I like Sean's on-air persona as he appears personable and gives a human face to the department. There is also a lesson here for Dominic that he seems to be missing and that he makes mention in the "Update", that "Sergeant Whitcomb just called, and, because he is a consummate gentleman, he stood up for the two cops who are leaving his division". This statement tells me Sean is not only a consummate gentlemen, but an officer of the law who knows what the uniform means and the daily risks these folks deal with day-to-day no matter what objections you may have to their personality. And that "Referencing this post, he said, "I would object to the tone, and I value the contributions that Mark and Jeff have provided.", which to me, is an indicator for Dominic to chill out on the negative commentaries about the SPD, because you're just making his job all the more difficult without having the benefit of actually doing the role - or so that is what Im getting from this post. Welcome Back, Sean!

As always, I enjoy the venom of your musings Dom! I do however agree with Sean on the tone but even if you muted the sharpness, the message would ring true. I found Kappel to be a fucking ass-hat from day one. Bumbling, incoherrant, rude, slow, and at times a leering hound-dog in his dealings with attractive female journalists. At no point did I find his attempts at charm an acceptable trade-off for his lack of interest in fulfilling his duties as Public Information Officer.

Jameson however arrived as a breathe of fresh air when he first took on the role of PIO. He was helpful and earnestly interested in doing his job completely even when all he could say was "the investigation is ongoing," or "the department has no comment." That changed quickly. Soon he would answer the phone and "play 20 qurestions" over the authenticity of what you were trying to confirm even debating the meaning of simple words like "it." Am I questioning Bill Clinton or the SPDs PIO? In recent dealings, Mark seemed overly cautious as if someone was listening to EVERY word being said. It was sad really.

I welcome the new additions and wish Jameson good luck in his next assignment. Kappel is leaving the way he came in: an ass-hat. Good riddance!

Good riddance to all the asshats getting booted, and welcome aboard to all the new breaths of fresh air cleaning up the SPD. Thanks, too, for the updates, Dominic. Keep up the good work.