Mount Vernon park ranger describes role, community connections

Miguel Brown, a park ranger with the Mount Vernon Police Department, introduced himself and described his background, duties and the department's community resources.

Brown said he was born in Panama, moved to Washington state as a child and grew up in Snohomish County and north King County. He told listeners he trained at the Skagit Valley College park ranger academy, one of five federal park ranger academies nationally, and that the program helped him enter the police department's hiring pipeline.

Brown said Mount Vernon is, to his knowledge, the only city in Washington where the municipal police department employs a fully commissioned park ranger with the same police powers as a police officer. He said the department will soon include four full-time social workers and described that as "a tremendous amount of resources" available to address community problems.

Outlining the city's parkland, Brown said Mount Vernon manages almost 1,000 acres of parkland and an additional "8 or 900 acres" of forest within the city. He said his work focuses on keeping parks clean, ensuring legitimate park usage and maintaining public access.

Brown highlighted language skills within the Mount Vernon Police Department, noting the department has an officer who speaks Farsi and at least seven Spanish-speaking officers, which he said helps connect with residents. He described personal reasons he was attracted to Mount Vernon's diversity and outdoor amenities.

Brown also shared brief personal details: he enjoys hiking, fishing, hunting and cooking, and encouraged residents who see him in parks or on trails to speak with him.