Bellingham had four finalists for police chief, but none were selected. Here’s what’s next
None of the four finalists to head the Bellingham Police Department were selected for the job, and Mayor Seth Fleetwood said that interim Chief Flo Simon will delay her retirement until a successor is named.
A new selection process will start in late fall, Fleetwood said in a statement posted at the city’s website Monday afternoon, June 14.
“We asked for and received valuable feedback from the community and key stakeholders regarding the desired key qualities and attributes of the next police chief,” Fleetwood said. “During this important time of transition in law enforcement, we need a leader that fits our vision for the future of the Bellingham Police Department.”
Fleetwood said none of the final four candidates met that criteria.
Fleetwood named four finalists, including a woman and a member of the city’s police command staff, for consideration May 12:
▪ Capt. Kristina Jones of the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau, where she oversees the community services division.
▪ First Deputy Director Matthew Davis of the Illinois State Police. Davis also has a law degree from Saint Louis University.
▪ Capt. Nick Almquist of the Snoqualmie Police Department.
▪ Deputy Police Chief Don Almer of the Bellingham Police Department.
Shortly after the announcement last month, the four finalists met with key city officials, select community members and the police department’s command staff and rank and file officers.
It had been understood that one of them had been slated to replace Chief David Doll, who retired in January after 40 years with the department.
Simon was named interim chief but she also said she planned to retire in 2021 as soon as a new chief was selected.
She has been deputy chief since 2008 and was Bellingham’s second Black officer when she was hired in 1989 after graduating from Western Washington University.
Bellingham’s police chief earns $166,000 a year and is part of the city’s management team, reporting to Fleetwood.
Meanwhile, the Bellingham City Council has committed to forming an unarmed 911 service to address mental health-related calls that don’t require police response.
Fleetwood said that was one reason for the delay in selecting a new chief, along with the City Council’s consideration of a civilian police oversight commission.
Further, the city is still examining the impact of 13 new police-related laws approved by the Legislature this year, Fleetwood said.
“This will be an important year for local law enforcement strategic planning,” he said. “I am grateful Chief Simon has agreed to stay on during this time. Her assistance with the police chief selection process and other law enforcement strategic planning priorities has been essential. We will solicit new candidates for the police chief position in late fall and proceed with another selection process.”
City Councilman Dan Hammill, who chairs the City Council Public Health, Safety and Justice Committee, said local and state officials recently have taken steps that affect the role of local police.
“Council has unanimously made the decision to embrace an unarmed response for certain behavioral health call types and that we — all of the stakeholders, not just the council — are trying to get the program implemented in light of legislation that was passed in Olympia during the last session,” Hammill told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
“This legislation will greatly affect how law enforcement does or does not respond to some types of behavioral-health calls. The confluence of this new law and the State Supreme Court’s Blake decision will have lasting and profound impacts in behavioral health, criminal justice reform and in city and county budgets.”
The Blake decision struck down the state’s simple drug possession law as unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove someone knowingly or intentionally possessed drugs.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 5:11 PM.
