Police officer added in Mattawa

MATTAWA - The City of Mattawa has two police officers for the first time since early July.

Police department consultant Joe Varik noted last week that Thomas Williams will assume his duties on Nov. 12. He will be scheduled to attend the state police academy sometime soon.

In other police department news, Varik said applications for the position of police chief were cut off at six.

Two of the applicants are in-state. One is employed by the Central Washington University Police Department. The other works for the Colville Tribal Police.

The other four applicants are from Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and California. The one from California is a Spanish-speaking woman who is a lieutenant with the Federal Reserve Police Department.

All six will be invited to the civil service testing in Mattawa. It is not likely they will all attend. Varik noted there is rarely 100 percent participation.

"That's a long way for some of them to come. They may change their minds," said Varik, a retired Ephrata police chief.

And their status may improve where they are currently employed. Or they could find a desirable position elsewhere before the hiring process in Mattawa is complete.

Varik noted a date is not yet set for the testing. First the city must reach an agreement with Public Safety Testing on what the test should be comprised of and a date.

"They encourage us to develop the panel of assessors," Varik said.

Assessors are the people who give the test and judge how well the candidates do. The test is sort of like an essay exam, but it's verbal, not written, in front of the panel.

According to Varik, the candidates will be given scenarios to deal with. For instance, one scenario could be a car crash in one part of town, an assault in another part of town and a robbery in still another part of town, all at the same time.

"What's the chief going to do?" Varik commented. "It's about leadership."

After the panel assesses the testing, a report of the results will be forwarded to Mayor Judy Esser. She is responsible for city hirings.

The panel of assessors could include only professionals, but it could also have plain old citizen Joes. It depends on how the city wants to set it up. Public Safety Testing will give them training before the exams.

Varik noted the applicants were required to have at least 10 years of experience. Some have more than 25.