Here’s what police chief candidate Kathy McAlpine says about issues facing Tacoma
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Choosing the next chief
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Here’s what police chief candidate Kathy McAlpine says about issues facing Tacoma
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Kathy McAlpine feels like she is being called home.
She grew up in Tacoma and Spanaway and held every position but chief during her nearly 31-year career with the Tacoma Police Department. She’s been top cop in Tigard, Oregon, the last four years but is now one of four candidates being considered for Tacoma’s next police chief.
“I feel like I have a great sense of Tacoma and really, truly just want to give back to an agency and a city that has given me so much,” said McAlpine, 61. “I know the good and bad and ugly of law enforcement and the history of Tacoma and right now we’ve slipped a bit. Sometimes when you’re in that bubble, you don’t see things an outsider can see. I want to give them a reminder that Tacoma has accomplished a lot, and we can do that together.”
McAlpine started her police career in Tacoma and left as an assistant chief. During her time here, she oversaw the department’s first gang unit and helped achieve Tacoma’s first accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation in Law Enforcement in 2010.
Since 2017, she has served as police chief in Tigard, a suburb of about 55,000 in Portland. With 78 sworn and 18 non-sworn personnel, it’s a much smaller department than Tacoma, which has about 326 sworn personnel.
One of the first things she did there was develop a strategic plan, something she thinks the Tacoma Police Department could benefit from. In Tigard, she focused on professionalism, leveraging technology and building trust with the community.
“It provides you a clear direction,” McAlpine said. “Once you have a clear direction and you’re moving forward, I see the department focusing on those priorities and there’s more cohesiveness.”
She thinks doing a deep dive into the department and setting goals could boost officer morale, provide transparency and get everyone working together.
Another thing she’d like to bring from Tigard to Tacoma are community service officers, who would assist with traffic accidents, graffiti and parking enforcement. They would wear a uniform, but not a police uniform, and carry a taser for protection rather than a gun.
Hiring community safety officers is one of several recommendations from 21st Century Policing Solutions, a consulting firm hired by Tacoma to review police policies and procedures.
McAlpine said there are many challenges facing Tacoma police and the department is poised for transition, something she feels capable of leading.
Tacoma officers have received national attention over the past year for two use-of-force cases — an officer who drove through a crowd of people gathered to watch street racing and the death of Manuel Ellis, who told officers he couldn’t breathe as they pinned him to the ground. A News Tribune analysis also found officers use force against Black people at a rate of almost five times more than white people.
The first step, McAlpine said, is to look at the scenarios in every instance police use force to determine whether a majority of cases involve officers doing self-initiated stops or if the force occurs during a crime. The second step would be to provide hands-on training to law enforcement officers, so they better understand new policing laws that went into effect this year.
“A new chief really needs to understand the data, set the culture and emphasize de-escalation,” McAlpine said. “We need to slow down and take time to understand, make sure policies are in place and understand and train to the new laws.”
Once the department is healthy and on track, she said, it would be easier to recruit, hire and retain police personnel.
That means looking for homegrown candidates in schools and trying to make the department more diverse and a reflection of the community.
“You want to create an environment that is attractive to people,” McAlpine said. “Your community is the best tool, but they have to trust the police. If they don’t trust the Police Department, they’re not going to be an advocate for family and community members to join.”
When it comes to the homelessness crisis, McAlpine said there’s no easy answer except finding shelter for those living on the streets.
“It’s not a criminal matter to be homeless in and of itself. Police should not be the de facto houseless policing entity,” she said, adding that officers would respond to thefts, trespassing and assaults. “We’ll address any criminal behavior, but not societal behavior.”
The role of law enforcement is shifting and changing across the country and Tacoma is no different.
Many police personnel are leaving the profession for different jobs or retiring early, and most agencies are struggling to recruit new officers.
Those that don’t want to deal with inevitable change should leave, McAlpine said.
“Then there are others that understand it and are willing to do the work. It’s a heavy lift but it’s something I want to do,” she said. “Policing is still a wonderful profession but we’re only here because the community wants it. That means we have to do it together.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
