Tacoma announces selection for new interim police chief
The City of Tacoma is appointing Michael Ake as interim chief for the Tacoma Police Department.
City Manager Elizabeth Pauli made an announcement Monday morning that the city would appoint an interim chief rather than a permanent chief as previously planned.
“While Mike Ake received strong support in all of the forums and I initially made a permanent but conditional offer to him, the interim designation of this offer and this appointment reflects and respects the thread of concern that I observed throughout the process from the community about the the ability of an internal candidate to drive transformation change,” Pauli said in a special City Council meeting on Monday morning.
The city conducted interviews with six finalists, including Ake, earlier this month. Candidates were both internal and out of state.
Ake, 52, said at Monday’s Council meeting that he was honored and humbled by the appointment and looked forward to engaging with the community and staff.
“We have a great opportunity not just to transform the department but become the leaders of transformation in policing on a local, regional and national level,” Ake said. “I want to thank again the City Manager, the Mayor and the Council for having the confidence in me to take the reins in this most critical time.”
Ake’s offer letter, dated Dec. 24, lists an hourly pay rate of $114.19, or $237,515.20 annually.
The city is currently embarking on a system-wide transformation to create an anti-racist Tacoma. The city hired 21st Century Policing Solutions earlier this year in part to evaluate various TPD policies, including use of force, discriminatory policing and bias-free policing practices, officer misconduct and accountability, officer recruitment, hiring, and retention, and more amid calls for reform.
Ake currently serves as assistant chief of the Administrative Services Bureau for the Tacoma Police Department, where he’s worked since 1989. He’s also the director of personnel and policy for the Washington National Guard. Ake holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Brandman University and a Master of Arts in strategic studies from the Army War College.
When asked by The News Tribune when the city expects to appoint a permanent chief, Pauli said she does not know at this point.
“We will continue to evaluate both the right time to bring forward a permanent candidate and what that permanent candidate needs to look like. … So it is open ended at this point,” she said.
Current police chief Don Ramsdell will retire in January after 18 years at the helm.
City officials aimed to have a permanent chief in place prior to Ramsdell’s departure and held various public meetings to gather public feedback.
Pauli said Monday that she felt Ake was the best candidate for the position, but made his appointment an interim one after concerns from the public that an internal candidate may not be the best fit for department-wide change.
“I listened to every open public forum, and I read every comment that was submitted in writing, and I saw and heard in each of those four forums, the question being posed: Can this kind of transformational effort happen with someone in the leadership role who’s been a part of the organization that that that needs to change?” Pauli said.
Ake said he will support the efforts of the transformation and work being done by 21st Century Police Solutions. When asked if he has plans to implement, Ake said he doesn’t want to come up with any specifics before talking more with residents, community members, staff and union members.
“First got to address those concerns, capture all that, and formulate a plan,” he said.
In candidate interviews on Dec. 7, Ake, who is Asian American, acknowledged systemic racial inequities and the need to address them, including uses of force within the Tacoma Police Department.
“We have to take a deep dive into the data, figure out why this is happening, and we must address it. Because it’s obvious that race is a big factor in these contacts,” he said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 10:02 AM.
