Abbreviation KCSO Formed 1852 Employees 1,000+ | Motto "Every Call Counts" Preceding agency Municipal Police | |
Common name King County Sheriff's Office |
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 1.9 million citizens, over 500,000 of whom live in either unincorporated areas or the 12 contract cities.
Contents
- Divisions
- Contract cities
- Other contracts
- Law Enforcement Exploring Program
- Fallen officers
- Controversy
- References
The current Sheriff of King County is John Urquhart. Urquhart was elected and sworn into office in November 2012.
Divisions
Contract cities
The following cities contract their police departments to KCSO:
Other contracts
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 Beaux Arts Village, Skykomish, Snoqualmie Tribe, Muckleshoot Tribe (although they used to wear a tribal patch) and King County Metro Transit. King County Metro Transit Police, a unit of the sheriff's office, do have their own style of patrol car specific to Metro Police, and their own uniform with the standard King County Sheriff patch. The city of North Bend contracted with the KCSO from 1973 until March 8, 2014 when the City of Snoqualmie Police Department took over the policing duties in North Bend, at that time the North Bend contract was KCSO longest standing contract.
The KCSO Motor Unit existed under contract with the King County Department of Transportation: Roads Division, which in turn provided funding for S.T.E.P (the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) which targeted select arterials within unincorporated King County based on a history of accidents, chronic traffic problems, and high citizen complaints. The KCSO Motors Unit wore the standard KCSO patch and Class A uniform and rode Honda KCSO marked police motorcycles. The Motor Unit participated in traffic enforcement, instructor certifications, dignitary protection and escort, parades and special events, educational and school activities as well as extensive motorcycle training. This unit was disbanded October 1, 2012.
Law Enforcement Exploring Program
The King County Sheriff's Office has a volunteer program for individuals between the ages of 14 and 21 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.
There are 4 Explorer posts in cities contracted with the King County Sheriff's Office, those being in Woodinville, Maple Valley, SeaTac, and Burien.
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the King County Sheriff's Office, 15 officers have died in the line of duty.
Controversy
In February 2012, Dustin Theoharis was shot sixteen times by a number of unnamed sheriff's deputies and Department of Corrections officers as he lay in his bed. The officers were attempting to search the home for another man when they saw Theoharis move and they opened fire. Officers responding to the shooting allegedly failed to gather evidence, moved items at the crime scene and acted as advocates for the shooters. An internal investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of the officers. The officers involved refused to cooperate with the investigation. The county agreed to pay $30 million to settle the matter. Sheriff John Urquhart pointed out to the press that he was not responsible for this incident as he had not yet been elected.
In early February 2014, Deputy Patrick "K.C." Saulet was fired from the agency. The sheriff determined that Saulet, a veteran of more than twenty years' service, had threatened a journalist who was taking photographs in a public place. Press reports indicate that the officer had received over one hundred citizen complaints over the years. Only one was sustained.