Police Chief Candidates Named

Five candidates for the Yakima police chief position are in Yakima today (Thursday, March 21st) and tomorrow to participate in a series of interviews and two “Meet & Greet” sessions – one with Yakima Police Department (YPD) staff and one with community members.

The five candidates are:

– Jason Horton – In January of this year, he was named the director of the Riverside County, California Code Enforcement Department.  Prior to that, he served in several roles for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department since 1993 including as a captain and chief deputy sheriff.

– Michael Lester – He is currently serving as the assistant police chief in Vancouver, Washington.  Since joining the Vancouver Police Department in 1992, he has served in several roles including as a special operations division commander and a drug task force detective sergeant.

– Darrell Lowe – He is currently the interim captain of police for the Criminal Investigations Division of the Santa Monica, California Police Department. Since joining the Santa Monica Police Department in 1993, he has served in a variety of roles including as lieutenant of police (equivalent to commander) and as executive officer to the deputy chief of police.

– Matthew Murray – He currently is serving as a police lieutenant for the Denver, Colorado Police Department.  Since joining the Denver Police Department in 1991, he has served in a variety of roles including deputy chief of police/chief of staff, police commander, and as a detective in the department’s major crimes division.

– Donald Treat – He is currently serving as an assistant special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in Los Angeles, California.  Since joining the FBI in 1998, he has served in a variety to roles including as an assistant section chief in McLean, Virginia and as an assistant legal attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Today, the five applicants are being interviewed by a panel consisting of experienced law enforcement professionals, a panel made up of members of unions that represent YPD staff, a panel of senior City staff members, and a panel of community members.  A City Council member will sit on the community panel and the senior City staff panel. The candidates will also be interviewed individually by City Manager Cliff Moore, who will ultimately decide who will become the next Yakima police chief.

In the afternoon on March 22nd, the candidates will participate in a “Meet & Greet” session with YPD staff.  That evening, another “Meet & Greet” session open to everyone in the community will take place in the south foyer of the Yakima Convention Center from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Following the Thursday interviews and the Friday “Meet & Greet” sessions, the field of police chief candidates will likely be further narrowed.  Finalists, the number of which has yet to be determined, will then be further assessed by Moore.