'If you're not improving, you need to retire'

RITZVILLE — Interim Ritzville Police Department Chief Bill Benner said he thought the department’s biggest strength is its connection with the community. Benner was sworn in as the interim in early October. 

“They know a lot of the community members. You get help from the community when you least expect it. So that’s a positive,” Benner said.  

Benner replaces David McCormick, who retired Sept. 30 after about 32 years with the department. McCormick had extended his original retirement date from June 30. 

Benner was a police officer with the city of Cheney, who went on to be the city’s maintenance supervisor.  

“I was a police officer for five years, back in the late ‘70s,” he said. “I elected to leave there and then I hired on with the utilities department. I was utilities manager for 25 years.” 

He didn’t leave law enforcement entirely. 

“I stayed on with the police department as a reserve officer, only because that’s what my formal training was, that’s what I went to school for. I had a love for it, but I just didn’t want to do it every day,” he said.  

Reserve officers are volunteers or work part-time, assist during emergencies and investigations and provide security, among other duties. Benner said he worked weekends and during community events.  

He was within five years of retirement, he said, when he was offered a job by the then-police chief, who was looking to fill some gaps in the department. Part of the attraction was that the police department offered a quicker path to retirement, but it didn’t work out that way, Benner said. 

“The more I thought about it, the more I thought, ‘I really miss it. I think I’ll do it.’ So I went back, and I ended up staying 10 additional years,” he said. “I was a sergeant, and the camaraderie with the other officers, watching the new guys come in and being able to watch them grow – some moved on, and some stayed. It was fun.” 

He retired in 2012 but found he didn’t really like retirement, he said. So he took other jobs for about eight years before retiring again. And it was okay, but when a friend told him about the interim job in Ritzville, he applied. 

“I accepted the (interim chief) position for six months,” he said.  

The biggest challenge in law enforcement in Ritzville is one the city shares with agencies across the country, he said.  

“I see the biggest challenge is finding recruits, and then once you have them trained through the Criminal Justice Commission, retaining them,” he said.  

Maintaining a police department has a big impact on the budget of a small city like Ritzville, he said. 

“So we need to work with it the best we can. We have a luxury that we can call on the (Adams County Sheriff’s Office) if we need backup on something, and that’s very beneficial,” he said.  

Multiple jobs in law enforcement have provided him some perspective, he said.  

“It was an eye-opener going back the first time, and it’s an eye-opener coming back this time as well,” Benner said. “There’s a lot to pick up on.” 

Part of his job in Ritzville, he said, will be keeping the community informed.  

“There’s a lot of activity in this community, and I don’t think the community members are fully aware of what’s happening. So I believe it will be my responsibility to keep the council apprised - of bigger crimes, anyway,” Benner said.  

The appeal of law enforcement is the way officers work together, he said. 

“When you get into law enforcement – I can’t even describe it. You like being involved with the activity, and the officers and the challenges. And the teamwork, where you collaborate at the task on hand, then you move forward and then get back together to see what the results were. Then you take another approach at it and continue on,” he said.  

Effective officers are always looking to improve, he said. 

“If you’re not improving, you need to retire,” he said.