KING COUNTY, Wash. — Patti Cole-Tindall has officially been appointed the new King County sheriff, thus removing the interim label and capping a nearly two-year process to reform the sheriff’s office.
King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the appointment Tuesday morning in White Center, formally nominating her for the position.
Cole-Tindall, 57, was one of three finalists for the role. The other two finalists were Charles Kimble, chief of police in Killeen, Texas, and Reginald Moorman, a major with the Atlanta Police Department.
The King County Council will have to confirm the selection, which is not considered a roadblock since the council successfully pushed voters to approve a charter amendment to make the sheriff an appointed position.
In an interview with KING 5, Cole-Tindall emphasized multiple times her unique background that led her to this point.
"I believe I am a non-traditional law enforcement executive; I am not the status quo,” said Cole-Tindall. “I might have worked in the sheriff's office for a number of years, but I am different.”
Cole-Tindall will be the first person of color to lead the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO).
"It's not lost on me," she continued. "It's such an opportunity, and it's also such a privilege to be able to lead this agency."
Cole-Tindall served as undersheriff for former King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht. She began her law enforcement career in the early ‘90s as a special agent with the Washington State Gambling Commission before moving on to roles investigating fraud at the Washington State Employment Security Department. She would later work in the King County Department of Juvenile Detention and Community Corrections Division, and Labor Relations Department. At one point, she was also the director of the county's Office of Law Enforcement Oversight.
It is a non-traditional rise to the top that will also require Cole-Tindall to re-earn her certification at the state's training academy. Constantine nor Cole-Tindall expressed much concern about that issue in an interview with KING 5.
"It's something we asked about, and we asked our rank and file about too, how they felt about it. As people got to know Patti and work with her as their actual leader, they understood that she did have the background," Constantine said while sitting next to Cole-Tindall. "You've been to the academy, you've actually been a sworn officer, and you are willing to go through that process again in order to have that certification."
"Obviously being away for 19 weeks [at the academy], I don't see it as a challenge,” said Cole-Tindall. “What I actually see is that no other sheriff or police chief in this entire state will have the contemporary training that our new recruits experienced, except for me. So, that will also make me unique."
Cole-Tindall said she wants to work aggressively on changing the morale in the department, and particularly the perspective of young people.
"We need to do things differently than how we've done them,” said Cole-Tindall. “I think in law enforcement in general, we're finding young people don't want to come to this profession. It's being different, not being part of the status quo, and creating this law enforcement agency where some of our younger people say, ‘You know what, I want to be part of that change.’"
Cole-Tindall said she is also planning a "re-org" of the department with new divisions, including one focusing on equity and community engagement. She believes the internal discussion will go a long way toward retention and recruitment, noting the department is already offering $15,000 lateral signing bonuses, $7,500 for new hires and $5,000 internal referral bonuses.
Cole-Tindall also said she's a big proponent of universal body cameras, and Constantine signaled they are on the same page.
"I'm very supportive of body-worn cameras to make sure that we can have the truth in every case, and I'm going to be working hard to make sure that we're pushing that forward. It's not an inexpensive proposition," said Constantine.
The initial reaction was overwhelmingly positive to Cole-Tindall's appointment.
King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, who chairs the Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee, told KING 5, "Sheriff Cole-Tindall is the right person for the job at this time."
Given her long ties to the community, Zahilay said he believes Cole-Tindall will welcome a public health focus and innovations in public safety responses.
"We've seen a big difference in responsiveness, collaboration with [the KCSO since Cole-Tindall was named interim Sheriff],” said Zahilay. “We are able to talk with deputies and captains in a way that wasn't possible in the last administration. She's given the freedom for deputies to engage with community members, to me, in a way that keeps people safe."
Carolyn Riley-Payne, president of the Seattle King County NAACP, also approved of the selection.
"When the community was asking for the process to change, we had the idea that the community would have solid input, and we did," Riley-Payne said in a phone interview with KING 5. "I think the selection shows the community was heard."
Riley-Payne also said, "This is a new day. We need a new way of looking at policing, and she will bring that to the department and she will help her officers know what that means."
Captain Stan Seo, who leads the Puget Sound Police Managers Association, which represents captains, majors and lieutenants, said his organization admittedly wasn't a fan of the vote to make the King County sheriff an appointed position in 2020.
In advance of the official announcement, Seo said, "We'd like to congratulate her on the appointment and are standing by ready to work with her to make the King County Sheriff's Office a leader in the region so the future of our agency will continue to excel."
Seo also acknowledged past issues with internal morale.
"I think it was a relationship issue and a communications issue. Just the willingness to engage with the exec., the council and other organizations within the county, the communications or lack thereof made it somewhat challenging," said Seo, adding, "Sheriff Cole-Tindall is going to be a collaborative individual."
King County Police Officers Guild President Mike Mansanarez said Cole-Tindall was his top choice. He said she is “well educated, and well versed in the issues in King County.”
In a phone interview, Mansanarez raved about Cole-Tindall's ability to communicate with staff and said she’s been at the bargaining table with him for union negotiations. The union, in contrast, had voted no confidence in her predecessor.
Cole-Tindall said she is willing to work with anyone and everyone, and the change in the charter allowed for this very opportunity.
"Everything I've done in my entire life and career, I think, has prepared me for where I am right now, today,” said Cole-Tindall. “I think this does allow for that creation of something different. I believe it is responsive to the community because they did not want the status quo. So, when you ask, 'Aren't I the status quo?' I'm anything but the status quo."
Constantine said the county council is expected to have its first hearing on Cole-Tindall's nomination on May 18, and he expects they will have a decision by the end of the month.