Good Cop

         (This column is only relevant locally)

Everett’s Chief of Police, John DeRousse, has retired, effective by the time you read this. He’ll be missed, but the newly-chosen chief, Robert Goetz is a good guy, too. Happily, John will remain in Everett, because his new job, with Providence Health Systems, means he won’t be moving away. I say “happily” because, ever since he arrived on the scene, as a K-9 cop Sergeant, he’s been a neighbor and a friend. I know Chief Goetz will carry on John’s high standard, because I’ve spent time with him, too. But John (he’ll hate reading this) is extraordinary.

Recently, he talked me into becoming a member of the Chief’s Advisory Board. Even before that, because he is who he is, I’d thought Everett has an excellent Police Department, due to his leadership as Chief, Dan Templeman’s before him, and like Robert Goetz will provide in the future. The department has been imbued with the ethic that its role is to serve its citizens, inclusive and respectful, not power-mad. It shows.

The Chief’s Advisory Board, to which I’d never have been appointed were it not for my friendship with neighbor John, consists of a wide range of people, all of whom, except me, are deeply involved in the community: clergy, youth out-reachers, community organizers, to name a few. They're much younger than me, too. I guess I represent the pre-dementia demographic. (I think it’s “pre.”) Other than writing columns, I don’t contribute to the community. The others do. It’s a stretch to call my columns contributions. I think it’s “pre.”

A recent mayoral candidate made a centerpiece of his campaign the lack of full police staffing. I'd guess he knew the reason, which is that Chief DeRousse refused to hire any but excellent candidates. In fact, they get hundreds of applicants, from which, based on their impressively high standards, they select around three percent. Of late, the slots are almost completely filled. They reject the sort of people who, based on what we see of them in the news daily, join ICE because they like brutalizing people and/or because of big signing bonuses. Everett pays well, but gives no bonus for joining. Their hires are chosen to serve.

As a member of the Board, I’ve learned about two police programs that, in other hands, have been controversial in some communities. In fact, one has been in the news, locally: the “Flock” system of reading license plates. In Mukilteo, it was discovered that the feds were hacking into the system and collecting its data, unauthorized. Mukilteo leadership stopped it. In Everett, stealing information never happened because they’d preemptively built in safeguards.

Since the advent of Flock, vehicle thefts here have dropped by around seventy percent. Plates are scanned for outstanding warrants, etc., and when no issues are found, the data is erased. I don’t find it threatening.

The other potentially controversial program is their newly introduced use of drones, which would rightly be a concern if they were flying around for general surveillance. But they’re not. They engage only in response to 911 or other emergency calls. Because they can arrive at a scene faster than a patrol car, and, if, for example, the operator’s assessment is that it’s safe for the cars not to scream through the streets to get there, it’s a safety issue. That’s happened a few times. They’ve also been used to locate a confused, elderly man who’d wandered off.

The technology is impressive: very high-resolution cameras, heat-detection (which led to locating that wanderer), and around 45 minutes of flight time. When the batteries run low, the drones automatically return to base. If needed, another can be launched. They’re not autonomous; they are operated by specially-trained officers. Used that way, I don't see a downside.

I suppose no police department, including Everett’s, is perfect. Though I haven’t heard of any, over time, there might be incidents that arouse suspicion or backlash. If so, I believe they’ll be rare. Knowing ex-Chief DeRousse, and having discussed policing with him long before he became chief, I can say, unequivocally, that the department’s commitment to community responsibility is profound. And, because bleeding-heart liberals like me are hardly known as advocates for police, you can take it from me. Also, Trumpofoxian mis- and disinformation notwithstanding, even liberals enjoy feeling safe and appreciate good cops. Many of whom, training as a trauma surgeon, I encountered in emergency rooms.

Compared to the other members, I know I don’t belong on the Chief’s Advisory Board, but John was persuasive and hard to say no to. I plan to turn in my badge soon (we don’t have badges), but we’ve been promised an in-person tutorial on the drones. I want to see that. Meanwhile, if any reader has issues with the police, they can let me know and I’ll pass them along.