Wenatchee, East Wenatchee Consider Sharing Police Chief

The cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee may have one police chief to oversee both police departments next year.

Cities Explore Shared Police Leadership

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At its joint City Council Special meeting Wednesday, the mayors of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee announced a desire to work together towards an Interlocal Agreement that will provide shared Chief of Police services between the two communities.

Proposed Agreement Names Rick Johnson

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Under the proposal, East Wenatchee Police Chief Rick Johnson would serve as the Chief for each city, while Wenatchee Police Chief and Interim City Administrator Edgar Reinfeld would become the full-time city administrator.

“This introduction is a first step, or crawl, towards an interlocal agreement to share a police chief,” Reinfeld said. “This is a great experiment and has a timeframe of a little over a year to see if this is successful."

Officials Cite Improved Coordination

Officials say this partnership will provide consistent leadership and service delivery across both jurisdictions, improve coordination of law enforcement, and increase organizational resilience and capacity to respond to the community.

Departments Would Remain Separate

Each city will maintain its own police department if the Interlocal Agreement is approved.