Patti Jackson sworn in as Tacoma’s first permanent female police chief
Just under a year ago, Patti Jackson took an oath to serve as the Tacoma Police Department’s interim chief.
On Thursday, she took the same oath — but this time for the permanent position.
In a ceremony filled with police officers, family members and public officials, Jackson was sworn in as police chief at the department’s headquarters.
“This oath is not about position,” Jackson said during the commemoration. “It’s about service. It’s about accountability. It’s about protecting this community and supporting the people that do this work.”
Jackson joined the Tacoma Police Department after working for over 35 years at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
Now, she’s the first permanent female chief of the Tacoma Police Department.
In an interview after the ceremony, Jackson explained the biggest challenge pressing the department is staffing.
The department is six short of the 386 positions it is budgeted for, Jackson said. By April, those roles are expected to be filled.
“This is the first time in decades that we are at single-digit vacancies, which means that we can have more officers out there in the street that are ready to hopefully disrupt criminal activity,” she said.
The ceremony also welcomed two lateral officers, three entry-level officers, a senior business analyst, a forensic technician and an animal control officer.
Some of the recruits were familiar faces, including a new lateral officer Kimberly Sanders, the wife of Thurston County Sheriff Sanders, as well as former Lakewood Police Department assistant chief John Unfred.
Unfred accepted a $420,998 settlement in August to retire from Lakewood after being placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. That investigation was canceled as part of the settlement agreement. Details about what prompted the leave were never released. Unfred stated publicly at the time that he’d done nothing wrong.
He is joining TPD as a senior business analyst.
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 5:04 PM.
CORRECTION: This story was updated to clarify the terms of John Unfred’s departure from the Lakewood Police Department.
