Citizen police academy begins

“When you leave here in eight weeks, our hope is you will know the truth of how the criminal justice system works,” Shelton Police Captain Daniel Patton told members Feb. 15 at the first class of the Citizens Academy.

The goal of the academy is to strengthen relationships with the community through education.

“You live here, you work here, you own a business here,” Patton said.

Understanding the department can help residents and police come together to find solutions to complex problems affecting our community, according to Patton. One of the first things people don’t realize is how police staffing operates.

In 2022, the last year for provided statistics, Washington ranked 51 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for officers per thousand people, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs.

Shelton patrol officers work 12-hour shifts and two officers are on patrol each shift. This level of staffing means Shelton police rely on state troopers, sheriff’s deputies, Squaxin tribal officers and lots of overtime.

If an officer makes a DUI arrest, for example, everything involved with booking and transporting the suspect could take up to three hours, Patton said. That means the officer will be taken off calls, other police agencies will have to be contacted for help or off-duty officers will be asked to put in overtime.

Still, Shelton police usually meet their assistance call times.

“Our goal is contacting you within the hour,” Patton said.

Another cog in the justice wheel is defense attorneys, also in short supply, and jail crowding, which means booking restrictions.

Shelton pays the Nisqually Correctional Facility $130 a day to provide jail beds to arrestees. Lack of funds for officers, attorneys and jail space means hard decisions about prosecutions.

“We have to take this into consideration” when responding to theft at Safeway for example,” Patton said.

“We simply can’t justify it,” Patton said.

Police are just as frustrated as residents, he said. “We signed up because we want to catch the bad guys.”

Patton compared crime fighting to an emergency room nurse providing triage. Shelton also had an “unheard of” three murders last year, Patton said. This meant two detectives put their other cases on hold and worked the homicides.

In the following weeks, classes will focus on other aspects of policing, and attendees will learn:

■ The difference between the police and sheriff’s departments with sheriff’s office guest speakers.

■ How the MACECOM 911 center works, staffing levels and a live behind-the-scene tour.

■ The process of criminal prosecution with guest Mason County Prosecutor Mike Dorcy.

■ What a coroner does, with guest Mason County Coroner Jaime Taylor.

■ How detectives work cases.

■ What correction officers do and how probation works.

■ What it feels like to be a police officer in a virtual reality scenario.

Patton said he hopes the academy class will ask the guests tough questions.

“Be respectful and polite, but don’t hold back,” he said.

One guest who refused to answer questions but still charmed the class was Valor, a Shelton K-9 officer, who showed off his skills.

Sergeant Christopher Downs, Valor’s partner, said the 4-year-old German shepherd was a pet before undergoing 300 hours of training.

The state requires Downs to have an additional 16 hours of monthly training, he said. Downs doesn’t get additional pay as a K-9 officer and Valor lives with him full-time.

Patton said at community events, people want to see the K-9 officer dogs “more than SWAT teams, boats, anything … People want to see the dog and what they do.”

Valor and Downs showed the class how they apprehend a suspect as a team.

The group went outside to the Civic Center parking lot for the demonstration.

“If you don’t surrender, the dog will come in and he will bite you,” Downs yelled, while holding Valor.

Officer Jared Ford, playing the “bad guy” wearing a padded bite sleeve, yelled back, “Nope. Not gonna do it.”

Valor received a command from Downs and raced toward Ford, jumping up and biting the pad. Valor didn’t let go until Downs gave a second command.

“The worst thing a person can do is pull away, because that dog isn’t going to let go,” Patton said.

Valor is used to track and apprehend someone who is suspected of physical assault or for a state-mandated arrest, such as domestic violence.

If a suspect is bitten, Downs said it’s documented, reported and he will follow up to make sure medical treatment is provided.

Downs said “far more” suspects just give up when confronted with a barking, snarling German shepherd.

“He’s the best partner and the worst partner. He keeps me safe, but barks in my ear for hours on end,” Downs said.