EDMONDS, Wash. — Jim Lawless, the acting police chief for the City of Edmonds, announced his resignation Tuesday and said he's taking a job in Marysville. It comes after months of back-and-forth between the police department and the city to try and find a new permanent police chief.
"While the Edmonds Police Department continues to be in a significant period of transition, I want to reassure you that you will continue to be served and protected by the amazing women and men of your police department," Lawless wrote on the department's Facebook page Tuesday.
Lawless is a 25 year veteran of the department. With his wealth of experience and knowledge about the community and the department, he seemed like a shoe-in to replace his former boss, Police Chief Al Compaan, who retired in 2019.
Edmonds Mayor Mike Nelson even put out a statement in April of last year saying Lawless would be the man sent to the City Council for confirmation, but not long after that announcement the nation found itself amid a racial reckoning.
Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the country in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed while in Minneapolis police custody. Protesters called for police reform and accountability. And communities started to rethink who should be running their police departments.
Fast forward a few months and Nelson decided to walk back the nomination of Lawless.
The mayor abruptly changed his mind in December and instead nominated Sherman Pruitt for the job, who was the police chief on the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Reservation. Had he been confirmed, Pruitt would have been the city's first Black police chief, but he was disqualified from the process after he "omitted" information during the interview and screening process.
When Nelson announced the change many inside and outside of the law enforcement community were outraged. They wrote letters-to-the-editor and flooded social media.
And even though Pruitt did not end up getting the position, neither did Lawless, despite his years of experience. Then, in January, Lawless announced he would not again be applying for the position and said the mayor would instead conduct a national search for the next police chief candidate.
"It is my belief that the smoothest transition possible is what is needed for the department and the community to begin to heal," wrote Lawless in the Jan. 14 post on the department's Facebook page. "I will forever be grateful that for the past year plus, I have had the honor and privilege to lead the amazing women and men of this regionally respected law enforcement agency. However, I will not again apply to be the permanent Chief of Police and I accept that it was not meant to be."
So far, the city has not released any updates on the search for the new police chief candidate.
In his resignation announcement Tuesday, Lawless said he accepted a position with the City of Marysville. The Marysville Police Department later confirmed Lawless will become their new assistant police chief.
Lawless' last day with the Edmonds Police Department will be March 22 and he will start his new job in Marysville on March 24.