PORT ANGELES — Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith is stepping into longtime Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher’s shoes as the interim chief.
City Manager Dan McKeen announced his appointment last week.
Gallagher’s last day on the job was Friday. He and his wife, Tammy, plan to spend two months in South America visiting former exchange students he has hosted and then return to Port Angeles.
The former chief, who is 62, said he will seek consulting jobs.
Recruitment for a permanent police chief has been postponed until late March or early April, the city said in a news release.
At this time, there is not a large enough pool of qualified candidates to begin the selection process, the release said, adding that it needs at least three to five candidates to begin interviews.
Smith’s background
Smith was hired as deputy chief in 2008, the same year Gallagher, who has served with the Port Angeles Police Department for more than 30 years, became chief.
Smith has served as acting chief, representing the police department at City Council meetings, public functions and other agency gatherings, the city said.
He also has served as the public information officer for the department and has been involved with numerous projects within the department, including the citywide wireless mesh network and waterfront camera projects.
Smith has a background in criminal justice studies from the University of California with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
He studied at the FBI National Academy in Virginia and received a Master of Public Administration from Montana State University.
Smith served for many years in the National Park Service, working on criminal investigations and 9-1-1 public safety dispatch, with many of those years in a supervisory role.
Gallagher entered law enforcement as a police reservist in the 1970s, served as a military police officer and then returned to Port Angeles, where he was hired in 1985.
He held positions as patrol sergeant, detective sergeant and deputy police chief before he was promoted to chief.
“Terry Gallagher has been an integral part of the PAPD and will be greatly missed for his superb leadership and active role as chief,” McKeen said in the release.
