College Place swears in new police captain as chief delivers 2024 annual and bias reports

College Place — On April 8, 2025, the College Place City Council welcomed and swore in Captain Chris Schweigert of the College Place Police Department, and Chief Tamara presented the department's 2024 annual report and a state-required bias-audit report to the council.

The reports summarized staffing and activity data, recent accreditations and technology deployments, and described local crime trends and diversion efforts. Chief Tamara said the department was "very busy" in 2024 and highlighted an increase in arrests, expanded use of drones and a recent reaccreditation with no audit findings.

Why it matters: The annual and bias reports are the department's primary public accounting of enforcement activity, demographics and policy compliance. They guide council oversight and community expectations about public safety, transparency and how grant dollars are used.

Chief Tamara began by outlining agency goals: reduce crime and improve traffic safety, provide quality customer service and innovative policing, recruit and retain a diverse workforce, and collaborate with stakeholders to improve quality of life. She told the council the department was one of the state's fully accredited agencies and had "0 findings in our audit." The accreditation audit was performed by the Washington Association of Sheriff's Police Chiefs (WASPC), she said.

The report included operations and staffing details: 539 arrests in 2024 (a year-over-year increase the chief quantified as 72%); higher incident and caseload totals; and a rise in recorded narcotics violations tied in part to a state-law change that allowed arrest and charging for possession of controlled substances. The chief also noted traffic stops and proactive patrol contacts had risen after a post-COVID dip.

On technology and units, the department reported 28 drone deployments in 2024, including seven supporting SWAT and two used for search-and-rescue. The chief described a night deployment on Stateline that led officers to a suspect location and an interior drone capability to scout buildings before entry.

Reaccreditation and equipment funding: the chief said the department received a $46,000 state incentive tied to reaccreditation and stated, "we were incentivized with a $46,000 check '... Which we're using to get our narcotics canine." That appropriation, the chief said, is being applied toward a narcotics canine program.

Investigations and personnel notes: the report described the Special Investigations Unit and staffing transitions. Detective Fortin wrote 11 search warrants in 2024 and handled complex, long-running cases before returning to patrol. Detective Brandon Rhodes succeeded him and received case handoffs. Detective Langloyce was identified as primary investigator on 19 cases (10 directly connected to College Place) with seven assists.

Bias reporting and data review: the chief said the department separately compiles and audits traffic-stop and citation demographics to comply with Washington reporting requirements (RCW) and then submits data to the state. She said the department's internal audits now report fewer "unknown" ethnicity entries and that the figures "fall in line with our racial demographics," noting that some contacts involve nonresidents and visitors from the wider Walla Walla Valley.

Pursuit policy and training: after a state-level pause on pursuits, the department reintroduced pursuit authority and trained all officers in immobilization techniques. The chief summarized historical pursuit counts shown in the presentation (one pursuit in 2021, 19 in 2022, lower again afterward) and said officers have been trained and that pursuits were routinely self-terminated by officers.

Crime trends and retail theft: the chief explained an increase in burglary statistics was largely the result of repeat trespasses at a retail partner: "That is when someone 'commits a theft third 'at Walmart... After they've been trespassed, that is now burglary." She credited loss-prevention staffing at the retailer and said the department responds and refers cases to the city prosecutor when appropriate.

Diversion programs and juvenile patterns: council members and the chief discussed diversion programs, including the law-enforcement-assisted diversion model referenced in the presentation. The chief said prosecutors, defense attorneys and officers may refer eligible people into diversion; participants who complete treatment may have charges set aside, while failures can be prosecuted. Both the chief and council members observed it is too early to judge long-term effectiveness, and they raised concerns about accountability and downstream effects of alternatives to incarceration.

Gang activity and youth outreach: the chief told the council the region is seeing "more and more gang activity" and recruitment that is shifting some crimes toward juveniles because of state laws that limit juvenile consequences. The department said school resource officers, regional task-force personnel and a College Place Youth Coalition are among local efforts to reach students and provide prevention resources.

Captain Chris Schweigert: The council and chief swore in Captain Chris Schweigert during the meeting. Schweigert, introduced by the chief with a brief resume, told the council, "I'm thrilled to be here. I'm very humbled by this opportunity. And, I look forward to come to work every day and working hard for all of you and all of the citizens."

What's next: Chief Tamara said the full annual report and bias report will be published to the police department web page and made available for download the day after the meeting.

Ending: Council members thanked the chief for transparency and the department for community engagement. Several council members asked follow-up questions during the presentation about pursuits, diversion programs and resource allocation.