An outsider’s been chosen to lead Tacoma police. Can he transform the department?
Tacoma’s next police chief will be the first in decades to be hired from out of state, a distinction city leaders believe will bring a fresh perspective and new energy to a department dealing with a staffing shortage, issues of community trust and an uptick in violent crime.
Avery Moore, 55, was confirmed as Tacoma Police Department’s next chief Dec. 7 in a unanimous City Council vote. Moore is the assistant chief for the Investigations Bureau at the Dallas Police Department and has been in law enforcement for more than 30 years.
He will start in Tacoma in mid-January. In a phone interview with The News Tribune, Moore said he’ll spend his first 30 days doing a lot of listening as he works to get to know the community and the department.
Then, he has big goals.
“I think we’re going to do absolutely great things because we’re going to be one unit, one team, one family, and we’re going to make Tacoma the safest city in the country,” Moore said. “I think that’s a goal that the officers will accept.”
Moore is moving from the ninth largest police department in the country to serve as Tacoma’s chief. He wasn’t the only finalist considered from out of state. Others up for the job came from smaller departments in California and Alaska. One candidate currently working as a chief in Oregon was the only finalist who had decades of internal experience at Tacoma Police Department.
The police chief position is appointed, and therefore doesn’t have a contract with a specific renewal date, city HR director Shelby Fritz said. She said Moore will be paid an annual salary of $217,193.60.
Moore’s hiring is a break from decades of selecting insiders to lead. The last out-of-state hire was chief Philip Arreola, who was brought in from Wisconsin and led for just under two years between 1996 and 1998.
Since then, each chief has been local. Only one former chief was Black. James Hairston was Tacoma’s first Black police chief, and he led between 1998 and 2002.
Outside perspective an ‘asset’
City manager Elizabeth Pauli, who Moore will report to, said she thought it was important that the next police chief bring fresh eyes to the department.
“To the community that represents that we are willing to really be transforming this department,” Pauli said. “To really be willing to look at doing things different, to not have the risk of falling into any old patterns or old relationships.”
An effort to improve transparency and accountability has been a focus of the city since June 2020. Pauli said the police department’s ability to improve community trust is as much a part of its transformation as anything it needs to do differently in terms of policies.
Repairing that trust will be a large task for Moore. Three officers in the department were criminally charged in May in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died March 3, 2020, after police restrained him. Video captured him saying: “Can’t breathe, sir, can’t breathe.”
The officers charged in his death are on paid administrative leave while investigations continue. A decision on whether to fire the officers involved could come before Moore takes the helm.
Moore has said he’s not afraid to talk about systemic racism associated with policing. He said it’s important officers receive continual training about use of force.
In a phone call Dec. 13, Moore said his strategy for connecting with communities throughout Tacoma is similar to how he would connect with officers in his own department – quality time. He said he wants to be accessible.
“People want to know they have a chief that really cares about them, that’s genuine,” Moore said. “And a chief that’s a real person, someone they can talk to, call on the phone, you know, come see him in his office.”
Moore said he thinks his outsider status will be an asset. He said coming from Dallas, he’s bringing a different perspective from a city that has experienced some of the challenges Tacoma is facing now.
Moore spoke about his work in Dallas that he is proud of, including implementing a three-phase crime plan, in an interview with the News Tribune on the issues facing Tacoma. The plan was implemented in May, and it started with hotspot policing, followed by place-specific investigations where crime is common, and then focused on deterrence.
The plan in Dallas is similar to Tacoma’s own plan for reducing violent crime, which includes increased patrols in areas where crime frequently occurs, special emphasis missions and partnerships with community organizations.
Moore described his leadership philosophy as encouraging new ideas and reinventions from the people who work for him.
“I feel like evolution is a responsibility of policing anyway, so I never got caught up in just staying the same,” Moore said. “I’ve always welcomed change.”
Challenges an outsider faces
A fresh face in any organization might not garner the initial support and warmth an insider might receive. City manager Pauli said anyone stepping into the role is going to have a transition period, but she said she believes Moore will have the support he needs to connect with his fellow officers, city leaders and the community.
Pauli said she thinks representatives from Tacoma Police Department are committed to a good transition.
The News Tribune was not able to reach the Tacoma police union’s president, Henry Betts, to talk about Moore’s selection.
Mayor Victoria Woodards said anyone coming into the job faces an uphill battle to build trust, but she said she believes Moore’s personality will help him form relationships he needs to do his job well. She was struck by one question Moore asked in his panel interviews: “Are you willing to do it with me?”
“He’s coming in to say let’s all get together and figure this out, and let’s make Tacoma the best police department in the country,” Woodards said.
Moore said little things like showing appreciation for the work his officers do, spending time with them and backing them up when they’re right are all part of how he will build trust. He’s also excited at the prospect of working in a smaller department, giving him the opportunity to get to know people one on one.
The Dallas Police Department has 3,150 sworn officers, and there are 865 in the Investigations Bureau. Tacoma Police Department is budgeted for 364 officers, though fewer are currently employed as the department deals with a staffing shortage.
Moore said when he was a division commander, he oversaw 387 officers and often put together monthly events such as Monday night football at a sports bar or family fun days to get to know officers’ families. Moore currently lives with his family in Dallas, and he has three adult sons.
“Before people care at all about what you think you know or what you know you know, they want to know that you care about them,” Moore said. “If you don’t spend any time with them, you’re disingenuous and you will never have trust.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
