Yakima Police Captain Shawn Boyle has been selected to serve as interim Yakima police chief while a search is conducted for a replacement for Matt Murray, who served as Yakima police chief from 2019 until recently announcing his retirement from the department. Murray’s tenure as chief ends on June 30th.
Interim Yakima City Manager Dave Zabell, who selected Boyle to serve as interim chief, said Boyle will assume his new duties on July 1st.
“Captain Boyle has an outstanding record as a law enforcement professional and has continually demonstrated his leadership abilities throughout his career,” said Zabell. “I am confident he will apply his significant experience to his role as interim chief.”
Boyle began his law enforcement career as a military police officer in the U.S. Army in 1991. He joined the Yakima Police Department as a corrections officer in 1996. In 1997, Boyle was promoted to police officer. He was again promoted in 2007 to the position of sergeant. In 2015, Boyle was promoted to lieutenant. Boyle was promoted to captain in 2019.
Boyle has been a member, assistant team leader, team leader, and team commander of the regional SWAT tactical team. He also has served as a law enforcement liaison to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. Boyle has led numerous training programs for law enforcement professionals throughout his career.
Boyle received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has professional and supervisory training through the Northwest Command College and the FBI-LEEDA Leadership Trilogy program.
In his role as YPD captain, Boyle has been the commander of the department’s Criminal Investigations Division and the operations chief of the Yakima Valley Special Investigations Unit.
