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College Place commissions first police K9, chief cites certifications and recent drug find
Summary
College Place sworn in K9 Letty and handler Officer Kyle Barker at the April 7 workshop; Police Chief Troy Tammaro presented training credentials and an annual department update noting crime declines, drone expansion and a task-force recovery of about 15.5 grams of fentanyl.
College Place formally commissioned its first police K9, Letty, and sworn handler Officer Kyle Barker during the city council workshop on April 7, Police Chief Troy Tammaro told the council. Chief Tammaro described the moment as "a historic moment for the city of College Place and the College Place Police Department."
The chief said Barker and Letty completed an initial three-week (120-hour) K9 basic course in North Carolina, followed by local training and additional certification at the PNW K9 conference, and that the team met the state's training standard WAC 139-05-915. "We were able to review videos and photos and charts on different dogs," Tammaro said, explaining how the department selected Letty.
The commissioning ceremony included the swearing-in of Officer Kyle Barker and presentation of Letty's commission card. Chief Tammaro also read a March 25 account prepared by Sergeant Sal Diaz describing Barker's role in a search-and-recovery operation for a missing Walla Walla University student; the account said Barker located the deceased student in rough terrain and assisted with recovery and next-of-kin notification. "His actions during this incident are a true testament to his character and values," the account states.
Tammaro used the department's annual update to highlight personnel, units and program growth. He noted a recent task-force operation in College Place that recovered 15.5 grams of fentanyl and said the task force and Letty "are making a difference in our community." The presentation summarized multi-year crime trends (burglaries down 57% year-to-year, thefts down about 20%) and flagged increases in some enforcement measures such as DUI apprehensions.
The chief outlined technology and capability investments, including two drone platforms (Skydio X10 with thermal imaging and a smaller indoor DJI Avata 2), an expanded Part 107 licensing effort, and plans to pursue a drone-first-responder model for quicker scene awareness. He also presented a bias-data report and said the department publishes demographic comparisons online; infractions for 2025 totaled 382 and, he said, the distribution mirrors local Census demographics.
Councilmembers thanked the chief and officers for their work; no formal council action was taken during the workshop. The department said commissioning papers were notarized and that Letty already assisted with a search and a drug find the morning of the ceremony.
