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closeSumner selects new deputy police chief
Brad Moericke previously worked for the Sumner Police Department and volunteered for the Sumner Fire Department
Roxanne Cooke
The Sumner Police Department has selected a new deputy police chief.
Brad Moericke, a former Sumner police sergeant, will begin working May 12.
“Sumner’s where I started,” Moericke said.
Sumner Police Chief John Galle selected Moericke from a pool of 10 candidates because of his connection to Sumner and his professional background, he said.
“Brad was chosen because he was the best fit for the agency” and community, he said. “He’s very community-minded.”
Moericke worked for nine years in the Sumner Police Department as a patrol officer, then a sergeant, and was also a volunteer firefighter for the Sumner Fire Department. He left in 1998 to start a convenience store business in Seattle, then attended and graduated law school at Seattle University.
Currently, Moericke is employed at the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the domestic violence unit. He is a member of the Office of Professional Accountability Review Board, which reviews internal investigations and makes recommendations to the city of Seattle.
He decided to apply for the Sumner position because it was “the perfect opportunity” to return and utilize his outside experience with management, a coaching style of leadership and dispute resolution. Moericke said he is looking forward to getting back into law enforcement.
“Public safety’s really where my heart lies,” he said. “I’m really happy to be back. I think it’s a good fit.”
The deputy police chief is a new position that will oversee operations of the department and work closely with investigations and patrol, Galle said.
Earlier this year, Galle proposed changes to the department’s organizational structure to put more emphasis on patrol. One change redefined a lieutenant position as a deputy chief position, to fall beneath the chief and above lieutenant.
The department conducted a search outside the department to find a new deputy chief. Candidates went through an interview and evaluation process as well as a background check.
Because Moericke has been out of law enforcement for several years, he will need to be recertified, Galle said. The department plans to evaluate the best option for that process. One choice is to have Moericke return for a two-week equivalency academy designed to familiarize police with Washington law.
“It’s set up for people who have been out of law enforcement,” Galle said.
Moericke will be sworn in at the June 2 city council meeting.