Interim Chief Andre Sayles issued the reprimand to Lieutenant Matthew Didier over his inappropriate language captured on body-worn video as SPD prepared to move in on demonstrators against an anti-trans Christian group’s rally.
“We are past talking to people,” Didier says at one point in the video. “We’re here to fuck people up now. We’re done with these guys and the shit they’re doing.”
“Leaders set the tone for those they lead. Words spoken before officers enter a crowd shape how that crowd is policed,” Interim Chief Andre Sayles said Friday in a statement on the reprimand that followed the Office of Police Accountability upholding a complaint filed against Didier.
CHS reported here on the May 2025 #DontMessWithOurKids gathering in Cal Anderson and the more than 20 people arrested during protests against the anti-trans rally as a large battalion of Seattle Police armed with batons and pepper spray moved in.
The Cal Anderson crackdown was an early dent in the leadership under then-Chief Shon Barnes.
Findings from a Seattle Office of Inspector General report concluded SPD was ignorant “of the broader cultural and political context of the rally and location” in its heavy handed response to the counter demonstration.
Now, a year and a half after the incident, Sayles explained the discipline adhered to disciplinary guidelines following sustained findings by the Office of Police Accountability.
Because Didier is a supervisor represented by the Seattle Police Management Association, his discipline had to follow union-mandated progressive discipline and meet arbitration standards for just cause. Factoring in Didier’s prior record, the Office of Police Accountability’s recommended penalty range ran from an oral reprimand to a two-day suspension.
The Sayles statement also addressed the Office of Inspector General review, acknowledging that police actions during the rally damaged trust with Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community. In the statement, the interim chief pledged to reform crowd management policies, adopt oversight recommendations, and engage local community groups directly ahead of future events.
Mayor Katie Wilson’s search for new Seattle Police chief launched in August with an advisory committee, online survey for public priorities, and a “$234,294.48 – $374,900.40” salary range.
The recruitment follows a turbulent period after the removal of Barnes amid fallout from a deadly Seattle Center shootout, leaving Sayles currently at the helm.
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