SEQUIM — In a July 1991 interview, Sheri Crain, a newly hired patrol officer for Sequim Police Department, said she felt a female officer would fit in well in Sequim. She was the department’s first.
The challenge then, Crain said, was getting to know the traffic flow along U.S. Highway 101 to Washington Street before the Sequim bypass was opened in 1999.
“It’s a real eye-opener,” she said. “I’m amazed at the traffic flow. It’s real difficult to get through.”
In 2016, she became the town’s first female police chief.
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Thirty-three years after she joined the force, Crain didn’t mention traffic in conversations or farewell speeches leading up to or at her farewell retirement gathering last Thursday, Feb. 29.
Instead, she shared gratitude for coworkers and community members, and speaks about the positive culture she and other first responders have worked to cultivate.
“All of our staff treat people that same way,” she said in an interview. “We all are here for our community to do the most professional job that we can. When you talk with one of our officers, you’re going to get their attention.”
That level of service and Sequim’s small town feel, Crain said, carries into “officers being able to walk into any scenario and being capable of working anything from a $15 shoplift at Walmart to being first on scene and helping investigate a homicide.”
Crain said officers continue to solve crimes collaboratively, working together between shifts and regionally, such as a burglary at Coastal Farm & Ranch in June 2022.
“I think our (officers) deserve some credit because Sequim has a low crime rate because of the level of professionalism and hard work that they do,” she said.
After a proclamation about Crain was read by Sequim Mayor Brandon Janisse at the Feb. 26 city council meeting, both Clallam County Sheriff Brian King and Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith said she’s been an excellent agency partner.
“Sheri’s been a real part of our culture here in this community,” King said.
Smith added that she’s been supportive of new and collaborative ideas, too.
Many firsts
Crain was hired on Feb. 26, 1991, and became the fifth patrol position that added another shift to the rotation, she said.
She and husband Pat moved here in 1989 for his work as a fisheries biologist, and she worked odd jobs before serving as a reserve officer for the Port Angeles Police Department for about a year before being hired by Interim Sequim Police Chief Fred Minker.
She grew up in the Midwest among a family of farmers before moving for family farm work in Eastern Washington. Crain graduated from Eastmont High School in Wenatchee and went on to pursue Criminal Justice at the University of Washington.
“I grew up watching ‘Perry Mason’ and having strong feeling of right and wrong,” she said.
“Who knows where you get things, but my passion was to do right and make sure right was happening.”
Crain said she saw the college’s class catalogue and criminal justice classes and thought, “That’s my major.”
In Sequim, she served as patrol officer for three years before being promoted to a part-time generalist detective, splitting her week with patrol duties. Along with being the first female police officer for Sequim, she achieved many other firsts, including becoming the department’s first female full-time detective, patrol sergeant, administrative sergeant, lieutenant, deputy chief and then chief.
Some of her notable investigations, she said included two sex crimes that resulted in a life sentence, and a murder investigation of a wife killing her husband.
“There was a lot of process, detail work to make sure you’ve crossed every T, and dotted every I,” she said.
In the city proclamation, it states Crain also spearheaded community engagement, emergency management, and agency partnerships including the creation of the Sequim Health and Housing Collaborative, and completed the 10-week Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Academy in 2013.
Never static
With retirement now here for Crain, she plans to stay in the area and be outdoors hiking, biking, kayaking, camping, traveling and working in the yard.
“Our goal is to do more in our own backyard,” she said.
In retirement, she doesn’t plan to be static, similar to her time in law enforcement.
“[The city] grew from 2,000 to 8,000 people and greater Sequim [even more],” Crain said.
“So this department has grown and opportunities and new experiences have always been available to me. Fact is, it’s been a wonderful experience to be part of the city growing.”
Crain’s family grew in the 1990s, too. She had her children, Derek, in 1992, and Gavin in 1997.
“My spouse took on a lot of duties and when you do shift work, your spouse takes on all the normal stuff; getting kids to and from,” she said.
“All of our [officers with children] here have to deal with that.”
During her pregnancies while on light duty, Crain said, she continued to do phone and in-person investigations and policy work for the department.
Opportunities
Crain said she’s always felt like she’s had a fair shake as a female police officer and that women’s numbers continue to grow in local law enforcement and as first responders.
“There being one here and one there has turned into two, three, four,” Crain said.
She finds Sequim Police Department has been an attractive place to come work for anyone, and notes that Sequim is encroaching the 30X30 Initiative to have at least 30% of its staff be women by 2030.
With Crain’s retirement another officer was anticipated to start on March 1 keeping Sequim’s total force to five women officers of the 21 employed.
Sequim city council approved a budget change last year to allow for 22 full-time officers to account for retirements. Crain said keeping the department at 20 or 21 officers is a good total to keep coverage stable in the city.
Through the years, Crain said building a positive culture and environment with a good work-life balance has created win-wins for staff to take care of themselves and their families.
“Everyone wants to watch their kid swim or play baseball or take them to music lessons, and I think we’ve created that type of environment, coupled with professional development, training and good equipment,” she said.
“When you do that good work, it attracts people who consider that important, so it should’t be a surprise you have a nice balance of people here.”
Conversations
In recent years as tensions have grown surrounding law enforcement, Crain said Sequim officers had a lot of solid, constructive discussions with residents about racism, police brutality and other topics.
“Through 2020’s George Floyd events, we had a lot of conversations with people everyday for months,” she said. “The consistent message was they respected us, they knew our staff, and knew the quality of work we put out. You get what you see here.”
Crain adds that there “are good cops everywhere and good police departments everywhere.”
I think it’s very typical to every difficult social issue that there are people who are invested, passionate and pay attention to details, and those who read a headline and kind of move on.”
However, she said Sequim Police Department has been successful because its leaders pay attention, learn and adapt to bad case law and happenings across the globe.
Through the good and tough times, Crain said people have been understanding and supportive of local police in Sequim.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am to have worked for the City of Sequim this entire time,” she said on Feb. 26. “This city has developed into a jewel.”
Following a retirement gathering for city officials and regional partners on Feb. 29, Hill was sworn in on March 1 in the council chambers.
He said he appreciates Crain’s mentorship and support bringing him up through the department.
“She’s been a constant here since the day I started here,” Hill said.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.