She grew up here. Now Bellingham’s next police chief is ready to make an impact
Rebecca Mertzig, the next Bellingham police chief, says she actually first tried to join the Bellingham Police Department nearly two decades ago.
Mertzig, who is currently serving as police chief for the Stanwood Police Department by contract with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, was born and raised in Whatcom County and graduated from Ferndale High School. She attended Western Washington University, but transferred to Eastern Washington when she decided to pursue a career in criminal justice.
In the spring of 2003, she applied to test with the Bellingham Police Department, with hopes she could land her first job in law enforcement in her home county, but said “that test got canceled.”
One door closed and another opened, as she joined the Police Corps program and earned reimbursement for her college expenses if she agreed to join one of the sponsoring law enforcement agencies, and she said she chose the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office because it was closest to home.
Nearly 18 years later she was named the police chief in Stanwood, and only a couple of months later, Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood announced Tuesday, April 19, that she’d been selected Bellingham’s next police chief, replacing Interim Chief Flo Simon who retires June 1.
“It all sort of happened at one time,” Mertzig said, referring to being named chief in Stanwood and Bellingham only months apart, “so it’s bittersweet that I’m leaving an amazing city and an 18-year career with the same department. That’s the hard part of this, because there are some really great people here, too.
“But I’m also looking forward to the challenges and the opportunity to make an impact on public safety where I live.”
Mertzig said she recently learned her aunt served as the crime and justice reporter for The Bellingham Herald 40 or 50 years ago, and this week Bellingham’s next chief of police sat down with The Herald to talk about her excitement over the new position and some of the challenges she expects:
Question: What do you know about the Bellingham Police Department and what interested you in applying to be chief?
Answer: My interest started after the last selection process. I actually was approached about applying when I was with my family at Boulevard Park by a Bellingham police officer the day before the deadline, but prior to that, it wasn’t really on my radar. I reached out to Interim Chief Flo Simon, and we had several conversations after that about whether I would be a good fit with my experience in the city of Bellingham.
I’ve always been impressed with the men and women that work there right now. I’ve had a lot of interactions with them, because I live locally. I was a (tactical) officer at the police academy for several years, and I’ve been an assessor in their promotional process for supervisors several times. I chose to do that because I had a vested interest in the safety of this community as a Whatcom County resident.
My biggest motivation, though, is that this is my community. I’ve been a Whatcom County resident for 30 years and I moved back in 2016. I commute to work currently because I knew I wanted to raise my family here. It’s always been a goal of mine, eventually, to be doing public safety in my own community. After gaining the relevant experience with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, when the opportunity came up this time, I had to go for it.
Q: What do you believe is your first and most important task as the new chief of police in Bellingham?
A: First and most important is clearly to increase the department to adequate staffing, and that’s an issue that every single agency is facing — down here (in Snohomish County) and the entire state. WASPC (Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs) has informed us that Washington state is 51st out of 51 in terms of police officers per population.
Staffing effects every other goal of mine within the city. I think staffing impacts the morale, it impacts the officers who are overworked, and it impacts every other goal I have for the City of Bellingham. Staffing is especially significant in affecting the increase in crime. It’s very well known and there have been several studies that show that the more officers you have present the lower crime is going to be.
So that is definitely going to be my first and most important goal.
Q: How concerned are you about the department’s current staffing shortage and how do you address that issue?
A: Everyone is trying to solve the same problem, and I don’t believe there is a magic bullet answer for that. I think that when you have a department that feels supported, that gets proper training, equipment and compensation, that certainly helps, because we’re all trying to pull from the same pool.
I believe strongly in implementing programs that promote officer wellness and I believe that will be attractive to lateral and entry-level candidates. This is not an immediate resolution, but one of the things I would definitely try is to do is to advocate for law enforcement in the state, and that includes with our local representatives. There was some pretty impactful legislation that occurred in July of 2021. During the 2022 legislative session, a few of those things were fixed because it was widely recognized there were some gaps and unintended consequences, but I think we have a lot of work to do. We still have some gaps in place.
As WASPC recently reported, vehicle thefts are up around 90% in the state of Washington this year. I think our legislators need to ask themselves some hard questions about the impact 2021 legislation has had and if those unintended consequences are acceptable. I don’t believe they are to the public, and if that is the case then we need to work on fixing those.
Q: You mentioned staffing shortage is an issue for the department, but how can it also be an opportunity to increase diversity within the department?
A: Like I said before, every challenge provides opportunity. We definitely want to make sure that Bellingham is seen as a welcoming environment for applicants of diverse populations. I would love to see underrepresented communities apply with the Bellingham Police Department I want to remove any barriers that would prevent that. It is well known that diversity in the workplace creates better opportunities for creativity and problem-solving and smarter decision-making.
It’s going to be up to me and my staff to get out and find creative ways to reach communities that are perhaps under represented and encourage them to apply and maybe even eliminate some barriers that we’ve held traditionally in the past in terms of hiring standards. That does not mean lower them, it just means maybe looking at them through a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Q: How important is it for the Bellingham Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to reestablish specialty units that may have been suspended due to staffing issues?
A: This coincides with the staffing crisis. Units that specialize provide a higher quality of public safety service such as co-responder units. These units are crucial and we know they are effective in dealing with the unsheltered and mental health issues that Bellingham is facing.
However, being able to do our core functions has to come first, and then we can start branching out into those other things. Those are programs that build trust with the community and really get down to the heart of the problem, so they’re very important to get going again when staffing can support them.
Q: Besides staffing, what do you see as some of the biggest challenges of the new position?
A: Flo Simon has been there for 30 years, so the institutional knowledge that is walking out the door is significant.
I see this challenge as opportunity, though, so while I am technically an outsider, in terms of the agency itself, maybe I can bring in some fresh insight and new perspective while taking into account the people there who have worked through problems already and valuing that they already know what works in their community.
I intend to spend a large amount of my time in the beginning doing a lot of listening and a lot of learning about the department.
Q: How do you plan to tackle your first 90 days on the job?
A: Again, I want to make a lot of personal connections, which includes face-to-face diplomacy. I’m a very strong believer in that. I think it is very important for me to engage with the community as a leader and build strong working relationships throughout the city.
So I’m going to be contacting those key stakeholders both internally and externally and really making an effort to understand what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong and what their expectation is for their police chief.
Q: Do you see making any organizational changes?
A: As an outsider coming in, I think before you make any changes you have to understand everything that is going on at the time. I would want to be very measured and strategic, and I would want to hear from the people that are impacted by those changes before I make them. That is very important to me.
I’m willing to make changes if they are necessary, evidence-based and are what is best for the safety of the community. I also would not institute change for the sake of change.
Q: Car thefts numbers in Bellingham during January, February and March quadrupled over those months in 2021, and other property crimes also were up. How do you address that issue?
A: Until our staffing improves, I believe we will continue to be reactive with this issue. I think some improvements can be made with the legislature and also with the judicial system in holding prolific offenders accountable. It’s been proven that a physical presence of officers is a deterrent when it comes to property crimes, especially.
I would encourage the community to engage in crime prevention strategies that include installing relatively inexpensive tracking devices in their vehicle so that we can locate them when they are stolen. I would also encourage the public to not leave valuables in their vehicles and look into the Bait Car program.
Q: How important is transparency for the Bellingham Police Department and how will you work to increase that?
A: It’s crucial. Part of our ability to do our job is public trust, and that comes, with transparency.
I think that we could be doing a little bit more in terms of outward-facing information. When I look on Bellingham’s crime statistics, there’s a great report about use of force and then there’s basically just a table with how many of each crime occurred. I think we could be providing a little bit more information.
We down here (at the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office) use LexusNexus and their community crime mapping system. For example, I was recently able to pull up a crime density map for the city council and give them more robust information.
Q: As a member of the community, how would you describe the reputation of the Bellingham Police Department within the community? How would you like to change that perception?
A: I’ll speak from my perception as a resident — my perception as a resident of Whatcom County, the Bellingham Police Department is extremely professional. They’re committed to training and delivering the highest quality of services.
It’s one of the reasons I wanted to apply is because of the outstanding job that the men and women do there every day.
Q: There have been some incidents in recent years, such as a couple of officers who were arrested, that may have tarnished the department’s reputation in the eyes of some community members. What can be done to change that image?
A: Obviously those things erode public trust, and that is something that is very important to me to build. It’s unfortunate to me individuals make poor decisions, and they should be held accountable for them.
By far, there are more positive interactions and exceptional performances from the Bellingham Police Department on a daily basis that often go unseen.
Like any organization, we will not be immune to poor performance and unprofessionalism. Unlike any other profession, the actions of bad police officers not only negatively impact their community, but the profession as a whole, nation-wide. We need to tell our story of doing the right thing more often, and hold officers accountable appropriately when they violate public trust.
Q: Who have you turned to for professional advice during your career and how have they impacted you?
A: Well, there’s a lot. One of my mentors through the years is Susy Johnson — she is a Captain with the Bothell Police Department, but she was formerly a Bureau Chief here in Snohomish County.
She kind of paved the way for women in this profession, to be honest. She doesn’t like anybody talking about this, but she was one of the first female SWAT operators in the state of Washington.
I think my biggest takeaways from her are just that she develops and fosters good relationships everywhere she goes — from every member of the organization. She’s just a class act all around. She understands that people are our greatest asset, and everyone should feel like they are valued and appreciated from their leader.
Anne Kirkpatrick (the former chief for the Spokane Police Department and the first woman to head the Oakland, California, Police Department) and Flo Simon also has been inspirational leaders for me.
Q: How have you seen the profession change for women during your 18 years?
A: That’s a hard question to answer. I’ve been in a department where I’ve always felt being a female isn’t going to be a privilege or advantage, but it’s also not going to keep you from anything you want.
When I started, there was a sense that I wouldn’t have legitimacy until I could prove myself physically. I believe I did that over time, but today I believe women are more valued in their departments.
It certainly helps that people like Susy Johnson, Anne Kirkpatrick and Flo Simon have paved the way and broken every barrier during the course of their careers.
Q: Is there anything that is important for the Bellingham community to know about you?
A: I’m really excited to have an impact on public safety in my community, because I have a vested interest there.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
