More officers in Edgewood

By Clare Jensen

The Signal
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: July 17, 2008

The city of Edgewood has more or less the same levels of law enforcement since its inception in 1996.

For its first three years of cityhood, five patrol officers covered the day and swing shifts, leaving the graveyard up to Pierce County at large.

In 2000, it upgraded to six patrols and went to 24-hour coverage. In 2001, it added a detective.

For the past seven years, those numbers have not changed, despite flaws in the coverage and population growth.

City staff had been in charge of handling the calls and shuffling paperwork for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department detachment that serves Edgewood, and there was often only one patrol on duty, when having two officers is customary for handling calls.

The city of Milton, which has a significantly smaller population than Edgewood, has more than 10 patrol officers.

During the 2008 budget discussion last winter, it became clear those staffing numbers needed to change.

Former Councilmember Bill Evans made it his mission to increase the number of officers as one of his last actions on council.

Staff for the detachment was increased, giving them the aid of their very own office assistant, who started in March, and two additional officers who began work this week.

Police Chief Ed Knutson said the need for additional officers has always been there and he was glad to see that the city realized the need.

He said in order to provide the highest level of safety for citizens as well as officers, more than one officer needs to be on shift.

“Not having an officer is fine until you need one,” he said. “And a lot of times, one is not enough.”

In the past, if a single officer got a call, they would call for backup from neighboring jurisdictions, but in several cases the other officer was unable to arrive in time to support the patrolling officer.

The detachment will still not be able to provide 24 hours of double officer coverage, but peak hours (from midnight to 4 a.m.) will now have two officers on shift as well throughout the day starting at 11 a.m.

Knutson said the detachment is looking at ways to ensure two officers are on duty 24-hours a day in the future.

Three new officers joined the police force this week as Officer Robert LaTour, who has been working with Edgewood for the past year, is leaving the detachment.

Officers Jason Bray, James Maas and Scott Wheeler will bring the city’s count up from six to eight patrol officers, the highest number of officers in the city’s history.

Knutson noted with large housing developments on the horizon, and growth in general for the city’s future, Edgewood  “needs to plan ahead for law enforcement.”

The officers were paid for through the general fund for this year, and a long-range funding plan will be assessed for the future.

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