Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell announced he will retire after 36 years in law enforcement. He is the longest-serving chief in the history of the Tacoma Police Department (TPD).
Ramsdell joined TPD in 1985 as a patrol officer and rose through the ranks to become police chief in 2003. The chief said he will help the department transition into new leadership before he retires in January 2021.
Ramsdell said the March death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma police custody was not tied to his retirement.
"Not at all," Ramsdell said in an interview with KING 5. "No."
His career as Tacoma's top cop will be book-ended with controversial department moments.
Ramsdell took on the role of chief after then-chief David Brame shot and killed his own wife Crystal, before killing himself in 2003. The ensuing fallout scandalized the department, and lawsuits threatened to bankrupt the city.
Ramsdell, a soft spoken department leader, was credited by city officials with stabilizing the department. He also deflected credit when his detectives solved the decades-old murders of 12-year-old Michella Welch and 13-year-old Jennifer Bastian, who were abducted and killed in the 1980's, when Ramsdell first started as a patrol deputy.
"I remember them. I know that the families are grateful that we came up with a solution," Ramsdell told KING 5 on Tuesday.
However, other families have been criticizing his department since the death of Ellis. James Bible, an attorney for the Ellis family, said last month "they need a change" at the top, because "Manny Ellis wasn't doing anything wrong, the police were in the wrong here."
RELATED: Family of Manuel Ellis demands independent investigation of his death in Tacoma police custody
Ramsdell recently outlined a series of reforms that he said would improve the department, but said he would not step down over the investigation Ellis' death. He said the decision to retire in January 2021 had been in the works "for some time."
"I want to make sure the City has time to conduct a thorough search for my successor, and I want to make sure we provide for a smooth transition in leadership," Ramsdell said in a statement Monday. "I stand ready to help the city in whatever way I can to assist in that process.”
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards shared the following statement with KING 5 on Tuesday, “I understand that Chief Ramsdell has been discussing his retirement with City Manager Elizabeth Pauli for some time, and I respect his decision. I appreciate Chief Ramsdell’s many years of service and the numerous relationships that he built in the Tacoma community during his tenure. The next leader of our police department will build on the foundation that Chief Ramsdell laid in his work on Project PEACE to bring meaningful transformation of policing in Tacoma, and the City’s looks forward to engaging the community on the process of hiring a new police chief.”
