Swinomish Police Department purge

About a quarter of the Swinomish Police Department’s officers have submitted resignations, according to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Allan Olson, the tribe’s general manager, said four officers, including Chief Andrew Thorne, Assistant Chief Larry Yonally, a sergeant and a patrol officer “resigned” after the Swinomish Senate decided to “reorganize” the department following a two-month review of police department activities. The 11-member senate met last Tuesday, July 18. Its meetings are not open to the public.

That same morning, this newspaper investigated reports that Swinomish Police officers were being “disarmed,” meaning they were being forced to surrender their weapons. We learned from sources that the four officers had been let go.

On Thursday morning the tribe distributed a press release stating the officers had resigned.

The press release also stated that the tribe will focus on “community-oriented and culturally appropriate policing.” There will be a renewed focus on “more foot patrols, citizen ride-alongs, and increased responsiveness to questions and concerns from the community about law enforcement priorities and operations,” the release states.

General manager Olson said it also means officers will emphasize familiarizing themselves with the local community, the Swinomish culture and how the tribe functions socially and culturally.

In conducting their review of the department, “they interviewed almost everyone,” Olson said. The reorganization could include changing the chain of command—the department may not rehire an assistant chief, he said.

The tribe plans to advertise for new hires soon and there are no internal candidates under consideration for the open chief position. He noted that the department is always looking to hire tribal members, and that the police officers have led job fairs and career fairs in the past to spark interest.

“There was absolutely no corruption,” he said. “No financial corruption carrying over.” That remark was in reference to the former Police Chief Thomas Schlicker, who was fired in 2014 and last November was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for stealing more than $30,000 from the tribe. Schlicker had been with the department for 18 years.

Rick Balam, who had been the Swinomish Chief of Police in the 1980s, came out of retirement to lead the department during the turbulent year while Schlicker was being prosecuted.

He stepped down after Schlicker’s sentencing in November 2015, and Thorne was named interim chief.

Until his resignation last week, Thorne had been chief for less than a year after being promoted from assistant chief and sergeant. He had been working with the Swinomish for six years.

Assistant Chief Yonally was also promoted last December, after working with the Swinomish department more than six years and previously as a Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy. Before that, he was the Chief of the La Conner Police Department, which was disbanded in 2001. La Conner now contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for police services.

The departure of four officers is a significant loss for the Swinomish Police Department, which Olson says employs 12 to 15 people, three of whom he says are tribal members.

Ideally, Olson said, the department would have eight patrol officers, two sergeants, two corporals, two dispatchers, two public safety officers and a chief. Right now, he said, two corporals are temporarily filling the supervisory roles.

The press release left out specific details, but the noticeable vagueness of the situation has fueled rumors in the community. Olson shook his head at a number of rumors circulating about the cause of the officers departures: There was no turbulent traffic stop of a La Conner teacher. Officers did not do something that angered an influential tribal family, nor were they investigating financial corruption.

On Monday Olson would not say whether the officers were asked to resign or left voluntarily because he would not discuss “personnel issues.” However, the Skagit Valley Herald has attributed information to Olson that three officers were forced to resign from the department and one was terminated.

Despite the turmoil, Olson said the department is running smoothly and the patrol schedules are uninterrupted, echoing what Swinomish Chairman Brian Cladoosby stated in the tribe’s press release. In that release, Cladoosby also said the Swinomish Senate expressed appreciation for the work the departed officers “put in to gain the trust of the Reservation Community.”