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Kent police outline downtown strategy, say $1.92M state grant will fund 20 'hire‑ahead' officers
Summary
Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla told the City Council the department is stepping up enforcement and services in the downtown core and received $1,920,000 in state funding under House Bill 2015 to ‘hire ahead’ 20 officers, add training and install medical sensors in the city jail.
Mayor Dana Ralph heard a detailed public safety briefing on March 17 in which Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla described ongoing enforcement and outreach aimed at downtown drug activity, property damage and unlawful camping.
Padilla said the department ran an intensive one‑month downtown emphasis from Jan. 5 to Feb. 5 that produced 480 contacts, 349 citations or trespass warnings, 214 referrals offered for services and 88 arrests or citations. "We can make a dent in it," Padilla said, arguing the focused operations reduced calls for service week by week during the operation.
The chief framed downtown problems as multi‑faceted: visible open drug use and mobile drug trafficking, litter and sanitation…
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