Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell arrested in 1996 on weapons, assault charges

POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, Iowa - Newly surfaced court records reveal Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell was arrested on weapons and assault charges nearly three decades ago in Iowa, though he’s only now sharing his own version of the events publicly. 

According to Pottawattamie County court records obtained by FOX 13 Seattle, Harrell was arrested and charged in 1996 with aggravated assault, carrying a weapon and interference with official acts in Pottawattamie County. 

All charges were dropped six months later, and according to Harrell, the arrest was a result of him being racially profiled.

What did the charges stem from?

What we know:

The charges stemmed from an incident on Sept. 27, 1996, in which Harrell was accused of carrying a handgun in a vehicle, assaulting another person while armed with a handgun and resisting or obstructing a police officer. 

Each charge was classified as an aggravated misdemeanor, carrying a potential penalty of up to two years in jail and a maximum fine of $8,540 at the time.

Case dismissed in 1997

Harrell appeared in court on Oct. 3, 1996, and later waived his right to a speedy trial. 

Nearly six months later, on March 25, 1997, all three charges were dismissed at the request of the county attorney, with Harrell ordered to pay court costs.

What we don't know:

The court documents do not name the alleged victim or provide specific details about the incident. According to court officials, police reports from that period were not considered public records.  

Harrell’s attorney in the case, Howard P. Thomas, retired in 2024 and could not be reached for comment. His former law firm says the original case file would have been purged after 10 years. 

Dig deeper:

In a front-page story, published just hours after Harrell’s Sept. 27th arrest, the Omaha World-Herald reported that Harrell was arrested outside the Ameristar Casino in Council in Council Bluffs, after getting into a fight over a parking space in the casino parking lot around 12:30am. The paper quotes Harrell as saying the other charges stemmed from his arguing with officials who wanted to search his car. An Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations official told the paper the search of Harrell’s car yielded a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s statement

FOX 13 Seattle reached out to Harrell on Tuesday about the incident. He provided the following statement:

"Nearly 30 years ago, I received a nomination for appointment to a controversial affordable housing board. I received a deluge of calls opposing my nomination, including death threats. As a Black man newly relocated to a Midwestern community, I had a handgun in my car for the safety of myself and my wife. Just after midnight, having received these threats, I was approached by multiple people in a parking lot. Not knowing their intentions and fearing for my life, I referenced being in possession of a handgun, which was unloaded, and showed it to them.

While in the parking lot, we realized that there was a misunderstanding, and we amicably settled the dispute, entering the establishment together. However, I was then racially profiled by a private security officer and detained for having the gun in my car. Knowing all the facts, the prosecutor asked to drop the charges and a judge agreed. I pursued legal recourse after my constitutional rights were violated by an illegal search. 

Because of this situation, and other instances from my youth of being unfairly targeted by bias, this is one reason I have been a strong advocate for police accountability — including advocating for SPD to join the consent decree, and why I proposed and passed Seattle’s bias free policing law. This is also why I’ve fought for racial equity and opportunity through initiatives like 'Ban the Box,' recognizing that people of color are disproportionately likely to be arrested, and too many are not in a position to prove their innocence and get a second chance."

Harrell’s path to Seattle mayor

At the time of his arrest, Harrell’s LinkedIn profile indicates he was working as a senior attorney at US West, a telecommunications company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska — just across the Missouri River from Pottawattamie County — but left the role in Jan. 1997.

Harrell returned to Seattle, opening his own legal practice in 1998. 

In 2007, he was elected to the Seattle City Council, and on Sept. 14, 2017, was sworn in as acting mayor of Seattle. In 2021, Harrell ran for mayor and won. He was sworn in as Seattle’s 57th mayor on Jan. 1, 2022, becoming the first Asian-American and second African-American mayor in Seattle's history.

No public mentions of the arrest

FOX 13 Seattle requested a sit-down interview with the mayor about this incident, which his office said on Wednesday was reviewing.

A search of public records, campaign materials and official biographies show no known mentions of Harrell’s 1996 arrest in his political career. 

Mayoral spokesperson Jamie Housen explained to The Seattle Times that the incident was "traumatic" for Harrell, saying that the mayor had shared details of the 1996 arrest in the past, but only with a small circle of family and friends.

Housen also noted that Harrell has spoken about other incidents where he believes he was racially profiled and how the experiences have shaped his priorities as an elected official.

BEST OF FOX 13 SEATTLE

Politics: Lawmakers propose pay-by-mile charge for WA drivers
Food: Starbucks phasing out plastic cups for cold drinks in WA, other states
Local: IRS tax refund schedule 2025: What you need to know

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. 

Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation. 

Bruce HarrellCrime and Public SafetyNews