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Hello! On Tuesday I participated in a press conference hosted by Bellevue PD regarding catalytic converter thefts. I was asked to say a few words and was able to relay that here at the KCSO we have seen an uptick in the number of thefts. As recently as three years ago, the KCSO responded to less than 20 reported catalytic converter thefts in an entire year. However, by 2021, we were seeing nearly four catalytic converter thefts per day. I am optimistic to see action at the state level during this current legislative session regarding this issue.
Yesterday, I spent the morning at the US Attorney’s Office along with other law enforcement partners from south King County, City of Seattle and our federal partners attending the Violent Crimes Strategies Roundtable. This meeting was called by Nick Brown, the US Attorney for the western states. We discussed gun violence and the overall increase in crime around the region. The point of the meeting was to share and develop comprehensive strategies to reduce crime. There was a lot of discussion regarding community partnerships as one approach to reduce crime and holding those accountable who are perpetrating crimes.
I am headed to Ellensburg today, March 3, for a statewide Sheriff’s meeting. I will report next week on what was discussed at this meeting.
News from Olympia: The 2022 legislative session is coming to fast conclusion and state law is already changing, as soon as the Governor approves the bill. Under HB 1719, passed by the legislature on March 1 (link here), legislators clarified the use of certain weapons, stating:
“"Rifle" has the same meaning as provided under RCW 9.41.010, except "rifle" does not include: Any shotgun, as defined under RCW 9.41.010; any device designed or used to deploy less lethal munitions including, but not limited to, rubber, bean bag, soft nose, sponge, or other nonpenetrating impact rounds; or any less lethal equipment.”
Functionally, this returns certain less lethal weapons to local law enforcement. This legislation passed with an emergency clause, making it effective immediately. KCSO legal team and ATU are reviewing the law change and will advise on next steps.
We anticipate more legislative changes in the coming week and will follow up once we have more information.
- Interim Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall
 Recruitment and Employee Engagement
The application process for the Sheriff recruitment has closed and the first-round interviews concluded this week. We remain on track with our timelines.
We had our first Employee Engagement Team meeting this week. Those in attendance were John Brunofski, Devon Edwards, Kyle Sekora, Elisabeth Massa, Jason Stanley, Eric Muller and myself. Doreen Carlson, Paula Kieland, Jonathan Gemmet, and Doug Zulker will be joining us at future meetings. It was a productive first meeting to discuss the program, set up structure and identify roles and responsibilities. The highlights include:
- Rank and titles will not play a role on the team other than to leverage expertise and to move projects/ideas forward for implementation. That’s why you are only seeing names listed above. Creativity and sharing of ideas is necessary and we want to eliminate any barriers
- The Team members will represent their worksites and be the “go to people” for sharing ideas for the Team to consider. We encourage input being directed to your worksite representative, but you can bring it to anyone on the team. The Team members will also share updates and seek out feedback from their co-workers
- Assignments were made for roles and responsibilities
- An Employee Engagement newsletter will be developed. We plan to share a monthly newsletter to highlight the work being done
- It was decided the name will be kept as the Employee Engagement Team (EET) to keep it simple and inclusive of all members of the KCSO
- We will start meeting biweekly and then move to monthly meetings. Communication will continue between meetings to maintain progress on the work being done
- Elizabeth Massa will work with IT to set up an EET email to submit ideas. We want to establish an anonymous option for those who choose to keep their suggestions private.
We promise continued communication, so you stay informed on what ideas are being considered, developed, and moved forward to implementation. We will also let you know if an idea is not being implemented, along with the reason(s) why.
As we mentioned previously, this year we are participating in the employee engagement survey that begins on March 7. Executive branch departments have been participating in the annual survey since 2015, but it’s our first-time taking part, so we’re looking forward to getting your feedback on working at King County. Our goal is for at least 75% of KCSO employees to complete the survey. As an example of what the survey can provide us, previous surveys have shown how important Belonging and Well-Being are to engagement for County employees. Employees with a high sense of belonging are nine times more likely to be engaged, and employees with a high well-being are six times more likely to be engaged. The image below shows how all three are linked.
Next week, formal communication will be shared about the survey. Watch for an email from kcemployeesurvey@us.confirmit.com inviting you to participate with the subject line “Welcome to the King County 2022 Employee Survey." Please take the time to complete the survey because your feedback is critical for making your work life better at KCSO. And rest assured, we are committed to acting on what we hear from you.
- Undersheriff Jesse Anderson
 Patrol Operations
Congratulations to Captain DJ Nesel who retired after 31+ years of dedicated service with the King County Sheriff’s Office. Yesterday, on March 2, a retirement celebration was held at the Lake Wilderness Lodge in Maple Valley. It was well attended by current and retired members of the KCSO and staff from the City of Maple Valley. DJ was recognized by Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall, Maple Valley Mayor Sean P. Kelly, Maple Valley City Manager Laura Philpot, and several others.
DJ’s last assignment with KCSO was serving as the Police Chief for Maple Valley. It was evident he did a fantastic job as the Chief building relationships with the community, city staff and leading by example. Captain Nesel was a leader and instrumental with the Guild and PSPMA to make improvements for members within the Sheriff’s Office. DJ started his career as a reserve deputy with KCSO and will continue to serve King County residents volunteering his time as a reserve deputy at Precinct-3. Thank You DJ.
- Chief Shawn Ledford
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