The Seattle Police Department has stopped investigating new reports of sexual assaults with adult victims, according to an internal memo sent to Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz.
Reporters Ashley Hiruko from KUOW and Sydney Brownstone of the Seattle Times reported the story earlier this week. They sat down with KNKX's Vivian McCall to explain why this is happening and what this means for victims.
Listen to their conversation above.
On Thursday, following the report, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell calledthe sexual assault unit's critically low staffing “unacceptable.”
“I’m not happy with where the city is, but we will indeed make sure that we are providing optimal service, both for investigation and victim survivor support here this year,” Harrell said.
