The Ridgefield Police Department reached a historic milestone last week with the promotion of its first-ever detective, while also opening the door to implement body cameras for officers.
During a packed Ridgefield City Council meeting on Thursday, Jan. 9, Chief Cathy Doriot introduced Tyler King as the department’s first detective. King, who has served with the Ridgefield Police Department for over seven years, was recognized for his exceptional investigative skills, dedication and ability to foster strong community relationships. Doriot also credited King for solving a significant theft case involving local businesses early in his career.
“Even though he’s young in his career, there are a lot of officers that have been in his career 20 years and can’t do some of the things that he does,” Doriot told the City Council.
The department also celebrated the promotion of Officer David Jensen to sergeant, completing its leadership team with four sergeants. Chief Doriot described Jensen’s promotion as the final piece of the department’s “four-legged stool” of leadership.
Jensen, who joined the Ridgefield Police Department just over a year ago after serving 16 years with the Vancouver Police Department, has already made a strong impression. Doriot commended his calm demeanor, strong work ethic and innate leadership abilities.
“He understands that delicate balance of taking care of your people, but yet taking care of the organization and the community,” Doriot said. “They’re not mutually exclusive. They actually build upon one another, and he gets that, and not everybody can get that. I’m just really proud that we are promoting him today.”
A group of over a dozen supporters wearing shirts featuring Jensen’s face, attended the meeting to celebrate his promotion. Leading the group was Jensen’s wife, Audra, who had the honor of pinning his badge during the ceremony.
Additionally, Chris Hunt, who recently completed his training, was sworn in as the city’s newest patrol officer during the meeting. As of Jan. 13, the Ridgefield Police Department will have 10 officers on patrol including one detective, four sergeants and a lieutenant. Doriot told The Reflector that she aims to hire four more patrol officers to complete the team.
Body camera implementation
Additionally, the Ridgefield City Council approved an ordinance allowing the police department to purchase body-worn and fleet vehicle cameras during the meeting. The department plans to contract with Axon, a leading police equipment vendor, to acquire 18 body cameras as part of a comprehensive package that includes dashboard cameras, upgraded tasers and virtual reality training. The 10-year contract is estimated to cost $1.4 million.
Axon’s technology is designed to activate automatically during police actions, such as when a firearm or taser is drawn from its holster. Doriot noted that Ridgefield joins a growing number of local cities adopting body cameras in response to increasing public demand for police transparency.
“We’re hoping that the cameras will show what we already know to be the case, which is that the Ridgefield Police Department does good work,” Doriot said. “It improves transparency so that if someone has a question, if they didn’t like the way that an encounter went with an officer, they can come in, they can make a complaint or they can ask to have a conversation about, ‘hey … this is what happened and this is my perspective.’”
With Ridgefield’s implementation of body cameras, all police agencies in Clark County will utilize the equipment, with the exception of the Cowlitz Indian Tribal Public Safety Department. The City Council will officially approve the purchase in a future meeting.
