Soap Lake Police chief, officer resign

SOAP LAKE - Soap Lake's chief of police and a police officer resigned this week, leaving just one full time patrolman in the department.

Mayor Raymond Gravelle announced the resignations with little explanation at the outset of Wednesday's city council meeting.

"Officer (Justin) Bedford has tendered his resignation and it has been accepted. Chief (Jim) Dorris has tendered his resignation and it has also been accepted," Gravelle said.

Bedford, who has been a Soap Lake officer since September 2011, will continue working until his resignation is effective at the end of this month, while Dorris is on sick leave until his resignation takes effect June 2.

Dorris has been with the city's police department for 15 years and was named chief in 2006. He was not present at the meeting, but said on Thursday he resigned for health reasons. The chief, who has been battling cancer since October of 2010, said he recently took sick leave at his doctor's direction and may travel for treatment to Philadelphia in the coming weeks.

During the public comment portion of the council meeting, a resident expressed concern that the city is now being watched over by just one city police officer and asked why Bedford resigned.

"I can tell you what he wrote in his resignation letter, that, quote, it was time to move on. That's the only information that I have at this time," Gravelle replied.

But on Thursday Gravelle revealed that Bedford resigned immediately following a denied request for more pay.

Bedford confirmed he did ask Gravelle for a one time bonus of $500 for both himself and fellow Soap Lake police officer Dustin Slabach, who had previously been informed they'll be required to work double shifts over the next 30 days while the city looks to replace Dorris. Bedford asserts the mayor told him if he didn't like his current pay, he was welcome to resign.

"He did request a raise, but we have no money in the budget and I explained this is a temporary situation," Gravelle said. He said the officers are currently being required to take turns working eight hour shifts followed by 16 hours on call, typically for three days on followed by two days off.

The city's two reserve officers are not allowed to work without a chief, but Gravelle said "as soon as possible" he's hoping to move reserve officer Rowdy Yates into a full time position as an emergency hire to replace Bedford.

Gravelle also said he's waiting on input from the city attorney regarding the viability of having the city's reserve officers work under a deputy or sheriff's commission until a new chief is found.

"We'll have three officers on for a short time, and I'm contacting the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs," Gravelle said of the city's plans. "They have a roster of interim chiefs that could be available, so if I need to go that route and don't feel I can secure a permanent chief in a reasonable period of time, I will tap into that resource for an interim chief."

Mitch Barker, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs (WASPC), said the organization does maintain an informal listing of people willing to travel to serve in interim positions around the state.

"We do not do this proactively, but if (Soap Lake) were to contact us we'd try to get a feel for what they want and how long they want them," Barker said. "We then contact individuals and, if one or more are interested, we have them call the city directly to work out the details."

WASPC also offers small cities assistance in the search for police chiefs, including advertising and permits help, but there is a cost for that service, Barker added.

Gravelle said a discussion earlier this year concerning the possibility of contracting the city's police services out to the Grant County Sheriff's Office has been quashed.

"That's not an option any longer," he said. "I couldn't garner any support in the community for that."