September was a month of transition for the police department as many of our patrol staff started new positions. Along with those new positions, the schedule bump occurs in March and September so it’s a challenge for administration when working out the new schedules.

Officer Jeff Argubright and Officer Sam Craven both started new positions with the department. Officer Argubright was named the departments new School Resource Officer earlier this year and started his duties in September. Officer Argubright has had the training necessary for this position and was excited about getting started. This is an extremely busy position mostly dealing with high school students but not limited to just that one school. Officer Argubright will also respond to all schools in the Oregon Trail School District when needed.

Officer Sam Craven has transferred from patrol to the detectives position. Officer Craven is just finishing up his detectives academy at DPSST and is excited to get started as our new detective. Both the School Resource Officer and the detectives position are a four year rotational spot that officers apply for and compete for the openings through a series of interviews etc. Congratulations to both of them, I’m sure they will do a great job for our Sandy Police Department.

In other news, the police department has been working toward updating our fleet. This has been an ongoing project. We have finally got to a point where all the old vehicles, except two that will only be used as backups, have been cycled out of our rotation. This has been an extremely laborious process and a lot of hard work has been put into the project. Lt. Shawn Burns took over the fleet management earlier this year and has done an outstanding job bringing our fleet up to date. You will see the new vehicles in use this month. They look very professional and most importantly, our officers have safe vehicles to drive.

Another busy summer month for the police department. City manager Yamashita and myself spent nearly a week in the John Day area assisting Grant County with the solar eclipse event. Both Yamashita and I had positions in the emergency operations center. The event provided a unique opportunity for on the job experience in an actual live emergency operations center and was well worth the trip.

In other department news. Officer Jason Bickle and Sgt. Shawn Burns were both promoted. Officer Jason Bickle was promoted to Sgt. and Sgt. Shawn Burns was promoted to Lieutenant. Both started their new positions on August 8th of this year. The Lieutenant will be responsible for running the department in my absence along with other administrative duties. Congratulations to both Sgt. Bickle and Lieutenant Burns.

Reserve Officer Garrett Thornton has completed the testing process and has accepted our offer for employment as a patrol officer. Garrett has served as a Reserve Officer for the past two years with our agency and now starts his full time career with us. He is excited and we are happy to have him. Garrett will start on October 2nd of this year and will be sworn in on that date at the council meeting. Congratulations to Garrett on his new position. We look forward to working with him for many years to come.

July brought the annual Sandy Mountain Festival and the weather was great. As far as I could tell, the festival had a good turnout and was a success. The police department had extra officers on during the weekend and all our volunteers were helping as well. It’s a busy time of year and our volunteers really make a difference. Thanks to all our Reserve Officers for serving our community, their dedication does not go unnoticed.

We are still in the process of hiring a new patrol officer and hope to make an offer by the end of August. After making an offer, our new recruit will hopefully get an academy date in October of this year. Its a long process as the recruit will have to spend 16 weeks at the Oregon academy before coming back to our agency to begin the field training evaluation program. We are anxious to get started.

We have selected a new School Resource Officer for the upcoming school year at Sandy High School. This position is a four year rotational spot and the candidates go through a selection process including interviews etc. Officer Jeff Argubright has been chosen for the position and will start when the new school year begins. Congratulations to Officer Argubright, we know he will do a fantastic job for the school district.

Another rotational position has been filled by Officer Sam Craven. Officer Craven will be assigned as our detective beginning in September of this year. This position is also a four year rotational spot and applicants are submitted via a selection process. Congratulations Officer Craven. He will begin with the detectives academy to get additional necessary training for the position.

All the events in  July went well.  The different departments pulled together to make each of the many events a great success.  My thanks to all of them for their hard work on behalf of the city.

The “Branding Team” has continued the work with our vendor NorthStar.  Things are moving ahead of schedule.  A tag line (which will be revealed later) was selected and the following weeks a log and colors will be next.  It’s a very exciting process and the vendor is doing some outstanding work.

Sgt. Lundry worked diligently and swiftly to get a grant completed that may provide for a police officer.  The Federal COPS grant provides for 75 percent of the approved entry-level salaries and fringe benefits of each new hire up to #125,000 per officer position, each year for three years.

I attended the summer Oregon City and County Managers Assoc. conference in Bend. It was a great networking opportunity and we had some wonderful breakout sessions.  I also attend the Oregon Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Finance Workshop in Silverton.  I was hoping to find some options for financing future projects, made some good connections and think the time was worthwhile.

David Snider and I interviewed a Portland State University (PSU) MPA student for a possible short term intern position.   He will be working on the foundational pieces of the Arts Commission program.  This will probably include bylaws, application for commission positions, networking and developing some relationships in the arts community.

The beginning of summer usually means the police department is busier than usual. This year has been no exception. Calls for service are up and our staffing is still down. Our two injured officers are still out. Were hoping to get Officer Sytsma back in the middle of July. There is no time line for the return of Officer Wetherbee to full duty at this point. He is now on light duty here at the PD.

The Longest Day Parkway ride event in the Sandy Bluff Neighborhood was a success. Thanks to all who organized and participated in the event. It was a great location to have it. The traffic control problems were very minor and it looked like everyone enjoyed themselves. Special thanks to Reserve Officers Crombie, Freeman and Thornton for volunteering their time to make sure everyone was safe at the event.

On June 9th, oral board interviews were held for our new officer recruit process. We have selected one of the applicants to the background investigation phase which will take more than a month to complete. As soon as a job offer is made, I will let the council know. Were hoping to have someone ready to go for the DPSST academy that begins in October of this year. I’d also like to thank department heads Lisa Young, Tanya Richardson and Andi Howell for helping out with the oral board interview process. It was an all day commitment from each of them and it was very much appreciated.

The coming few months will be a challenge with our low staffing issues so my administrative staff is busy with scheduling officers for overtime shifts etc.

It seemed spring finally arrived and with the warmer weather and Memorial Day Weekend, police were busy with the unofficial kickoff of summer. Traffic congestion was heavy during that holiday weekend but there were no serious traffic accidents and aside from a few angry motorists, all went well.

Scheduling issues are the main concern with the police department at this time as we now have two officers that are out with injuries. Officers Wetherbee and Sytsma are both out for an undetermined amount of time. Officer Wetherbee underwent surgery to repair his ankle and Officer Sytsma has a broken bone in his right hand. I have no hard dates for the return of either officer. This has put a strain on our schedule and overtime has increased as a result of this. Patrol slots that are vacant have to be filled. I’m hoping for a speedy recovery from both officers. Officer Wetherbee is currently on light duty and helping us at the office.

The written test and Oregon Physical Abilities Test (ORPAT) were completed this month for the new recruit position the police department has open at this time. Interviews are scheduled for June 9th and I hope to make an offer to one of the applicants shortly after the interview process is completed. With summer quickly approaching, i’m hoping to get a new officer started as quickly as possible.

Sgt. Shawn Burns hosted multiple groups of preschoolers at the police department. This has become an annual event. The preschoolers, teachers and parents were treated to a tour of the police department and of course had a chance to push some buttons in a cruiser. Sgt. Burns was exhausted as a result of all the little ones coming through. He did a wonderful job as always.

Another busy month at the police department. All members participated in firearms training this month. The training included the mandatory qualification process that all officers are required to perform and pass. In addition to that, all officers went through additional scenario based training exercises designed to enhance the deployment of firearms in tense type situations. The firearms instructors did an excellent job as always in developing different types of scenarios. We always strive to have the best training for our officers, not just what is required by the state.

I attended the annual Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Bend Oregon this month. There was excellent training all three days of the conference. Included but not limited to: new recruitment strategies for our time; active shooter response, preparation and dealing with the aftermath; effective supervision etc. It was a great conference.

Congratulations to our officer of the year Armando Olmos. His work at the Oregon Trail School District has been outstanding. I am excited to watch his career grow with our city. Also, Sgt. Sean Lundry was sworn in this month at the last city council meeting. Sgt. Lundry has quickly become an asset to our agency and the great community we share.

Testing process for our new officer continues as the written and physical tests have been completed. Interviews are being set up at this time and we hope to make one of the candidates an offer sometime in early June.

Officer William Wetherbee was injured while working at the Estacada High School as their School Resource Officer. He had a successful surgery last week to repair a torn tendon in his ankle. We wish him a speedy recovery as he may be out of active duty for some time. A timeline for his return has not been established as of now.

In March, the Police Department completed defensive tactics training for all officers. This training is provided in house and is put on by defensive tactics instructors Officer Armando Olmos and Officer Luke Hodges. Both officers are certified through DPSST.

On March 10th, Sgt. Sean Lundry put on a class for the International Visitors Program. The class focused on domestic violence programs and enforcement in our state. The students were from a variety of countries in the Near East and North Africa region. All personnel that attended were invited by US Embassies abroad as leaders in their field to participate in the Department of State sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program. The Portland Metro area was the groups second stop after Washington D.C. The director was very pleased with the groups comments after visiting our own Sandy Police Department. Sgt. Lundry spent two hours with them going over various laws and procedures involved with domestic violence and our approach to this very important subject. Thank you to Sgt. Lundry for representing our very dedicated and professional police department.

The police department is nearing the testing phase of the hiring process for a new officer. The testing phase begins on May 6th and I will continue to update the council as the process moves forward.

Many thanks to all of our officers and staff that have assisted me in one way or another during my transition to Interim Chief of Police. I am overwhelmed with the support I have been given by not only my employees but other members of our city staff and council. Thank you and have a great month.

Another busy month for the police department as the inclement weather continued throughout the month. Officers completed their emergency vehicle operations course this month that was held at the Portland International Raceway. The training not only teaches officers safe driving techniques during stressful situations, they also are put through numerous scenarios including but not limited to; pursuit driving, high risk vehicle stops, communication skills, use of force options and decision making during high stress situations. It allows our personnel to interact with surrounding agencies as well.

Also this month, I am proud to announce our officer of the year. This years award goes to Officer Armando Olmos for his fantastic work as our School Resource Officer. Officer Olmos is assigned to the Sandy High School but serves as a resource officer for the entire Oregon Trail School District. Officer Olmos has had an impact on countless students during his time at the school. His ability to do his job as a law enforcement officer and at the same time, act as a mentor to students is outstanding. Officer Olmos is in his last year at the school and will be missed by students and staff. He will then rotate back to patrol where I have no doubt he will continue to grow and excel in his chosen field. Congratulations Officer Olmos.

We had a rash of thefts from vehicles this month. The suspect was arrested in Jackson County and with the cooperation between the two agencies, we were able to link that suspect to some of our thefts we had here. The Sandy Detective is currently working with Jackson County on the case. A great example of inter agency cooperation.

And last but certainly not least, Sgt. Shawn Burns has now served the city of Sandy for 25 years. He was hired on 02/01/92. This does not even account for his volunteer efforts before he became a full time officer. My many many thanks to him for his commitment to our profession and our city.

It was a busy month for the Police Department. The weather presented extra challenges for our officers. Recent reports are pointing toward more inclement weather on the way. We’ve also had changes in the Police Department. As I continue to familiarize myself in my new role as Interim Chief of Police, I’m happy to announce the promotion Officer Sean Lundry to Sergeant. Sergeant Lundry was promoted to Sergeant following the testing process in late December. Sergeant Lundry came to our department after spending many years in various positions with The Dalles Police Department where he excelled. Congratulations Sergeant Lundry. We know he will do a great job. We had four other great candidates who did a wonderful job as well. It’s nice when you have so many qualified and eager employees at your department who are interested in the next steps in their careers. We have opened up the application process to fill the patrol position left by Sergeant Lundry. We will be accepting applications from February 1st thru March 6th.

I will soon be announcing our “Officer of the year” winner for 2016. This program is through the VFW and recognizes officers from different agencies for their outstanding work throughout the year.

We had a good turnout from the police department for the cities annual employee recognition party held at McMennamins in Troutdale. Good times were had by all. Many thanks to all who put out the effort to organize the event.