The City of Burien is currently participating in the process to select a new chief of police for the Burien Police Department, which is comprised of personnel from the King County Sheriff’s Office. The City will follow the process outlined within the Interlocal Agreement for police services with King County, and as agreed to by the King County Sheriff’s Office.
The new chief will fill the position vacated by former Chief Theodore (Ted) Boe. The City of Burien is grateful for Boe’s six years of dedicated service to Burien and wishes him success in his new role as Chief of Police of the Des Moines Police Department.
Beginning next week, a series of stakeholder panels featuring City leadership staff, councilmembers, community leaders and members of organizations serving the Burien community will conduct interviews with candidates for the position.
"Helping drive this selection process is a diverse group of stakeholders representing a wide array of identities and experiences,” said Burien City Manager Adolfo Bailon. “We're excited to have a majority of people on each interview panel be a person of color, which makes this process representative of the richness in cultural diversity that exists within Burien. This process continues the work to achieve the City's strategic plan goals in advancing racial equity, especially around such a critically important position."
The city manager will evaluate feedback from the panels to make the final selection.
Burien Police Department Captain Tom Calabrese will continue to serve as interim police chief until the selection process is complete.
The City will keep the community updated as the process continues and looks forward to welcoming and working with Burien’s new police chief.