Port Townsend got a chance this week to meet the four candidates being considered to fill the role of chief for the Port Townsend Police Department.

With more than a century’s worth of experience between the four potential chiefs, the candidates each had an opportunity to talk about what is important to them in policing — as well as answer some questions from the community — during a Zoom "Meet and Greet" Monday afternoon. 

The four finalists are Thomas Olson, D.F. Pace, Joseph Harris, and Mark Daniel.

THOMAS OLSON

Olson currently serves as the deputy chief for the University of Washington Police Department. Olson has been with the university’s force since 2014 and has approximately 32 years of law enforcement experience. 

"My wife Rosie is from Peru and is a first-generation naturalized U.S. citizen," Olson said. "Rosie and I both grew up in small towns and we're looking for a similar community to raise our children. We believe that Port Townsend is our right place at the right time."

During individual group breakout sessions, attendees asked questions of the prospective candidates. When asked about recent moves to decriminalize possession of small amounts of street drugs in Oregon, Olson stopped short of backing such a move here in Washington. 

"That's kind of a touchy subject for a couple of reasons," Olson said. "I work in Seattle; realistically drugs are decriminalized in Seattle for the most part."

Olson said quantities of street drugs deemed to be for "personal use" are not prosecuted by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

Citing as the cause for his reticence to see decriminalization happen in Washington, Olson pointed to the ongoing issue of affordable housing and homelessness.

"[Addiction] is one of the issues that is contributing to homelessness. So, if we're going to tackle the issue of homelessness, we need to tackle the issue of drug addiction. I'm not sure legalizing drugs is going to reduce the amount of addiction,” Olson said.

D.F. PACE

Pace currently works for the Philadelphia Police Department as an inspector, which he said was equivalent to that of a deputy chief. Pace has worked for Philadelphia department since 2001 and has approximately 20 years of law enforcement experience.

Originally born in Italy, Pace said he is an immigrant and takes a private-sector approach to policing which is largely informed by his previous experience as a corporate trainer for a large financial institution.

"I traveled the country training front-line managers how to deliver outstanding world-class customer service," Pace said. "I really take that private-sector approach to policing and I think that's been part of the reason if I've had any success as a police leader."

When asked by a participant about the recent chaos in Washington, D.C. wherein insurrectionists stormed the Capitol Building, Pace did not mince his words.

"It's inexcusable, it's reprehensible and it's indefensible," Pace said. "I agree with the overall consensus that it was an act of insurrection. Several police officers have died as a result of that chaos."

"As a police leader, I am dedicated to protecting everyone's right to exercise their constitutionally-protected First Amendment free speech rights. But when that crosses over into criminal behavior, then that's where your free speech right ends," he added.      

JOSEPH HARRIS

Harris currently serves as the chief of police for the Washington city of Mattawa and has been with the department since 2016. Harris has approximately 19 years of law enforcement experience under his belt.

In kicking off his session, Harris said he was a firm believer that policing is a local decision and should be guided by community members.

When asked to talk about how implicit biases factor into policing in Mattawa — a community he said holds the distinction of having the second-highest per capita undocumented immigrant population in the U.S. — Harris said that he places a heavy emphasis on training for his officers and taking a community-oriented approach to policing, in which the officers participate and engage with community members.

"Get out of your car and go into the gas station and order a cheeseburger and sit down for 30 minutes and talk to people," Harris said. "If you're driving around and you see this family is having a quinceañera or a bautismo, and they invite you in for a taco, go in and eat a taco. Go in and get to know these people."   

Harris said was familiar with the implicit biases felt by the community in Mattawa, not only from the perspective of an outsider, but also from within. Harris explained that when he first met his wife, she, too, was an undocumented immigrant. 

"I have family that's undocumented," he added. "I've been a member, if you will, of the migrant community for the last 20 years."

MARK DANIEL

Daniel hails from the city of Mount Angel, Oregon, where he currently serves as the chief of police. Daniel has been with the Mount Angel Police Department since 2017 and has approximately 33 years of law enforcement experience.

When asked about possibly doing away with prosecution for debt-based driving with license suspended infractions, Daniel pointed to a recent move by Oregon to discontinue prosecuting driving-with-license-suspended violations that came up as a result of drivers failing to pay traffic fines.

"In Oregon, we're not going to suspend anybody's licenses anymore for failing to pay fines, and I'm OK with that," Daniel said. "I've seen over my career people getting deeper and deeper into debt, deeper and deeper into the hole and not being able to find their way out. That's a tough thing."

"I'd really like to give people the opportunity to turn things around," Daniel said.

"I believe in people being able to work through the system to get their driving privileges back. I'm completely OK with the thought that people don't get suspended for non-payment of fines,” he said.

Troy Surber currently serves as Port Townsend's interim police chief. Surber said it was his intent to retire in the near future and that he didn't feel that taking the position of chief would be fair to his team members if he would only be serving for a short period of time.      

The person selected to take over the role of chief will be tasked with reviewing recommendations made by the Council Ad Hoc Committee on Public Safety and Law Enforcement, which includes the creation of a citizen's advisory panel on matters related to policing.

Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro said the next step in the process to hire a new chief will be to review survey questions from the community.

That effort will be followed by reference and background checks. The city hopes to select a preferred candidate sometime in February.