| King County Sheriff's Office | |
| Common name | King County Sheriff's Office |
| Abbreviation | KCSO |
| Patch of the King County Sheriff's Office. | |
| Motto | "Every Call Counts" |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1853 |
| Preceding agency | Municipal Police |
| Employees | 1,000+ |
| Annual budget | $138.5 million (2011 Adopted Budget) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | County (US) of King County in the state of Washington, U.S. |
| Population | 1.8 million |
| Governing body | King County Council |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | King County Courthouse (Downtown Seattle) |
| Sworn members | 720 |
| Agency executive | Sue Rahr, Sheriff |
| Units |
4
|
| Facilities | |
| Precincts | Yes (4 including HQ) |
| Police boats | Yes |
| Helicopters | 2 |
| Website | |
| http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/sheriff.aspx | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. Note: The KCSO provides policing for unincorporated areas of King County, 12 contracting cities |
|
The King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is a local police agency in King County, Washington. It is the primary law enforcement agency for all unincorporated areas of King County, as well as 12 cities, and 2 transit agencies, which contract their police services to the KCSO. KCSO also provided Police and Fire ARFF Services to the King County International Airport (Boeing Field. KCSO also provides regional-level support services to other local law enforcement agencies such as air support and search and rescue. The department has over 1,000 employees and serves over 1.6 million citizens[1], over 500,000 of whom live in either unincorporated areas or the 12 contract cities.
The current sheriff of King County is Sue Rahr, preceded by Dave Reichert (now U.S. Representative for Washington's 8th congressional district)
Contents |
On July 15, 1982, the body of Wendy Lee Coffield was found in the Green River. Within a month, four other bodies were found on the riverbank: Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Faye Chapman, Opal Charmaine Mills and Cynthia Jean Hinds. Thus began one of the longest and largest serial murder investigations in United States history. Eventually, the deaths of at least 48 women would be linked to the Green River killer.[2]
Gary Ridgway was eventually convicted of the crimes. Ridgway is considered one of the most prolific serial killers in American history.
Since the establishment of the King County Sheriff's Office, 15 officers have died in the line of duty.[3]
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Sheriff Wesley F. Cherry |
|
Gunfire |
| Sheriff Louis V. Wyckoff |
|
Heart attack |
| Officer George W. Poor |
|
Gunfire (Accidental) |
| Posseman Cornelius Rowley |
|
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Robert Carl Scott |
|
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Steven S. Watson |
|
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Thomas Meehan |
|
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Norman F. Silkworth |
|
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Donald A. Armeni |
|
Gunfire |
| Detective Sergeant Samuel A. Hicks |
|
Gunfire |
| Detective Michael L. Raburn |
|
Stabbed |
| Deputy Sheriff Richard S. Cochran II |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Deputy Sheriff Mark William Brown |
|
Motorcycle accident |
| Deputy Sheriff Richard Anthony Herzog |
|
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Steve E. Cox |
|
Gunfire |
This division manages the core functions of patrol, precinct-based detectives, crime prevention, storefronts, and reserve deputies. The subdivision into four precincts allows for better community-based responses because the precinct commanders can use local data to direct law enforcement services. Day-to-day management of contract city police and school resource officers, are the responsibility of this division.
The Special Operations Division provides support services to other divisions, regional services to local agencies, and contract police service to the King County Metro Transit Division (including Sound Transit Police), King County Department of Transportation (Motor Unit), and the King County International Airport ARFF Police.
Services provided by this division include: a K-9 unit with search and drug detection capabilities; Air Support (Guardian One); Marine Unit; Bomb Squad; tactical training in firearms, less-lethal weapons, and defensive tactics; motorcycle traffic enforcement; Tac-30 (SWAT); hostage negotiations; dignitary protection; tow coordination and appeal hearings; Search & Rescue; D.M.T. (Demonstration Management Team); instruction in and equipment for Haz-Mat; and special event planning and coordination. The division has also taken the lead in planning for homeland security concerns.
This division includes the Major Crimes Section, the Special Investigations Section, and the King County Regional Criminal Intelligence Group. The division serves citizens with follow-up investigative, warrant, and intelligence-gathering services. Specifically, it investigates crimes including homicide, domestic violence, computer fraud, forgery, sexual assault, and more. CID also addresses child support enforcement issues and manages court security (Court Marshals).
Technical Services provides the bulk of support services that are vital to efficient operations. Often, the employees in this division provide direct services to citizens as well as support services to the other divisions.
The services provided by the division personnel include emergency 9-1-1 call receiving and dispatching, technology development, records, contracting, civil process, personnel/hiring, payroll, purchasing, training, photography, application and administration of grants, planning, and all aspects of fingerprint identification.
The following cities contract their police departments to KCSO:
Most of the contracts within the Sheriff's Office have their own patch and patrol car design and wear a King County Sheriff badge, while other contracts have no identity other than the King County Sheriff uniform, patch and patrol car. Those contracts that don't have their own identity are, North Bend Police, Beaux Arts Village, Skykomish, Snoqualmie Tribe, Muckleshoot Tribe (although they used to wear a tribal patch) and King County Metro Transit. However, King County Metro Transit Police does have their own style of patrol car specific to Metro Police, and their own uniform, they currently wear the standard King County Sheriff patch. The longest standing contract belongs to the City of North Bend, which began in 1973.
The KCSO Motor Unit exists under contract with the King County Department of Transportation: Roads Division, which in turn provides funding for S.T.E.P (the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) which targets select arterials within unincorporated King County based on a history of accidents, chronic traffic problems, and high citizen complaints. The KCSO Motors Unit currently wears the standard KCSO patch and wears and Class A uniform and ride Honda KCSO marked motorcycles. The Motor Unit participates in, Traffic enforcement, Instructor certifications, Dignitary protection and escort, parades and special events, educational and school activities as well as extensive Motorcycle training.
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Sheriff | |
| Chief Deputy | |
| Division Chief | |
| Contract City Chief | |
| Major | |
| Captain | |
| Sergeant | |
| Deputy
(Master Police Officer) |
|
| Deputy |
The King County Sheriff's Office has a volunteer program for individuals between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one who are interested in investigating a career in the field of law enforcement. The program is called the King County Sheriff Explorers and is a local post of the Learning for Life Exploring program. The explorer post has a rank structure similar to the Sheriff's Office. The explorers attend academies and competitions, ride-along with deputies on patrol, and receive training on a variety of law enforcement topics.