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Richland police chief outlines 2024 staffing, enforcement and investigative activity
Summary
Chief Marty Pilcher presented the Richland Police Department’s 2024 annual report, including staffing changes, hires, use-of-force and traffic-enforcement data, and highlighted programs such as the traffic unit, ICAC investigations and regional SWAT.
Chief Marty Pilcher presented the Richland Police Department’s 2024 annual report to City Council on April 15, detailing staffing changes, calls for service, traffic enforcement, investigative activity and departmental programs.
Pilcher said the department hired 14 entry-level officers and two laterals in 2024 and made organizational changes to flatten command staff by replacing a deputy chief’s position and a commander position with lieutenants to develop leadership internally. He acknowledged Interim Chief Craig Bridal and staff who served through the year while leadership changed.
The department reported about 1,917 arrests in 2024; force was used in 25 of those incidents, Pilcher said, with a range of injury reports including abrasions and complaints of pain. He described the most common control strategies — including control holds and restraint wraps — as tools to reduce higher levels of force and to transport persons with behavioral-health or intoxication-related needs.
Traffic enforcement accounted for 7,543 traffic stops in 2024 and 5,438 traffic infractions, Pilcher said; the department also made 150 DUI arrests. The reconstituted traffic unit (three officers and one sergeant) wrote 3,614 infractions and accounted for approximately 43 percent of citations, Pilcher said. The department reported 886 total collisions in 2024 (a 0 percent change from 2023) and said it recorded zero traffic fatalities.
Investigations assigned 247 cases to the general-detective unit in 2024 and cleared about 75 percent of those, Pilcher said. Case highlights included the November homicide of Michael Perkins; detectives identified a suspect who was apprehended with US Marshals in Oregon and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit conducted 53 investigations in 2024, executing more than 100 search warrants and producing 13 arrests; Pilcher noted several federal prosecutions that produced long prison terms for offenders. The department also contributes personnel to a regional SWAT team (29 callouts in 2024) and maintains a bomb squad (four team members and 22 responses).
Pilcher described an expanded small unmanned aircraft (drone) program with eight FAA-licensed pilots and seven drones; he said drones reduce deployment time and can improve safety, and discussed the idea of using drones as a first responder to provide scene information for police and fire personnel.
On public records and transparency, Pilcher noted the department handled 1,426 public-records requests in 2024 and operates a professional standards process that received 25 complaints (three sustained). He also praised community-facing programs — 100 events led by community relations staff in 2024, a robust volunteer program (16 active VIPs contributing more than 2,000 hours) and support from the Richland Police Foundation.
Council members thanked Pilcher and asked follow-up questions about hiring, the traffic unit and potential enforcement tools such as speed or red-light cameras. Pilcher said hiring remains a priority, that he supports continued training and that drone-as-first-responder concepts are under consideration but would require further study and resources.
