Where is Tacoma’s ex-police chief? He’s taken a job in the Sunflower State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Former Tacoma police chief Avery Moore now serves as assistant city manager in Topeka.
- Moore will oversee police, fire, emergency services and municipal court in his new job.
- Moore left Tacoma amid investigations and took a pay cut for the new role.
Tacoma’s former chief of police took a new public-safety job this month in Topeka, Kansas after resigning in February in the wake of investigations related to his personal use of a city cell phone and his use of leave.
The City of Topeka announced May 12 that Moore had been hired as an assistant city manager. When Moore resigned from the Tacoma Police Department, he said he was stepping away from his 35-year career in law enforcement. His new job is law enforcement adjacent, as he’ll oversee the city’s police and fire departments, as well as its municipal court and emergency management.
In Tacoma, the City of Topeka said, Moore led efforts to reduce crime, strengthen community trust and increase public engagement. In a news conference in Topeka, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal, Moore said he’d had a three-year commitment in Tacoma and that he was successful at those three issues.
“Thank you for allowing me to come to this beautiful city, and thank you, Dr. Perez, for the opportunity,” Moore said. “I couldn’t be more excited, couldn’t be more grateful.”
Robert Perez is Topeka’s city manager. In a news release, he said Moore would be an asset, stating he brought decades of leadership experience and a deep understanding of public service.
Efforts to reach Moore on Thursday through a representative from the City of Topeka weren’t immediately successful.
It appears Moore will take a pay cut at his new job. He will earn $200,000, a city spokesperson for Topeka confirmed Thursday. In Tacoma, his annual salary was $326,934 when he resigned. Topeka is the capital of Kansas, about 63 miles from Kansas City, Missouri. The population is about 125,000.
Moore’s resignation in Tacoma also came with a nearly $500,000 payout from the city for cooperating with litigation and not seeking future employment with Tacoma, among other agreements.
In interviews with local media about the circumstances of his departure from Tacoma, Moore said you can’t believe everything you read.
“I have an impeccable record, not perfect,” Moore said, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. “I’ve made mistakes. I’ve owned every mistake I’ve ever made, and I’m proud of that. I don’t make excuses.”
Investigations related to Moore’s time in Tacoma haven’t led to findings of any wrongdoing. An outside probe of Moore’s $1,000-plus bill on a city-issued phone while on a family vacation in Sweden found he didn’t deliberately mislead city officials about his knowledge of the charges, which were for GPS navigation. He repaid the bill. The investigation itself cost more than $11,000.
Tacoma has so far declined to release records regarding its internal review of Moore’s usage of leave, arguing that the records were exempt from disclosure citing a state statute indicating the review is ongoing.
