PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is willing to lend a deputy to the short-staffed Forks police force, provided the city covers the overtime costs.
Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron told the three county commissioners Monday that the Forks Police Department requested the assistance because the city is “woefully short on manpower.”
“They’re down to three police officers to cover the inner city,” Cameron said.
The Sheriff’s Office has a West End detachment on U.S. Highway 101 just north of the Forks city limit.
According to an interagency agreement that commissioners will consider today, the city of Forks will pay the county $60 per hour for the deputy to work a 10-hour shift.
Should the deputy need to travel from Port Angeles or Sequim, the shift will be 12 hours long.
Forks Mayor Bryon Monohon said he anticipates that the city will use the extra deputy for a month and a half, until the city replaces an officer who recently quit.
“We were short-staffed as it was,” Monohon said.
“Now we’re down another one. We’re actively in a hiring process.”
The city’s fourth police officer is on leave, Monohon said.
The Forks City Council was to consider the county agreement Monday night.
Monohon said the city has contracted the services of a county sheriff’s deputy in the past.
The deputy will wear his or her own uniform and drive a sheriff’s cruiser while patrolling the city.
The Forks Police Department will commission the deputy so he or she can enforce local laws and city ordinances.
The assigned deputy can still respond to calls outside of the city in emergencies, according to the agreement.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
