NEAH BAY — Growing up, being chief of police for Neah Bay Public Safety wasn’t at the top of Casandra Bruner’s mind.
But as a 21-year-old single mom trying to support her son, Bruner didn’t have a lot of room for dreams — instead, she just needed a job.
“We were sitting in a clinic one day, and I said, ‘I could try to do that job [law enforcement],’” Bruner said. “From there, I fell in love with it.”
Law enforcement didn’t just give Bruner a job, it also gave her the dream of serving as chief of police, a position she spent 25 years working toward. On May 1, Bruner’s dream was realized. Not only was she named Neah Bay Public Safety chief of police, but she also became the first woman to hold that position.
“I was pretty excited,” Bruner said. “Being the first female chief of police is a pretty big honor.”
At first, Makah Tribal Council Chairman and former Chief of Police T.J. Greene said the council didn’t even realize Bruner was the first woman to hold that position.
“We were just looking for a qualified candidate,” he added.
But after Bruner accepted the position, they went through the records and determined she seemed to be the first.
“I think that’s just more for our young females in the community to be able to look up to,” Greene said. “She’s such a great example for them, and for the rest of us, as well.”
Law enforcement strikes Bruner’s interests for a number of reasons, she said.
“I like the problem solving, I like interacting with the community,” she said. “I like being someone that people look to, to help them.”
Bruner grew up in Clallam County, graduating from Clallam Bay High School in 1997. From there, she went to Peninsula College and played for two years on their first women’s basketball team.
After one year on Neah Bay Public Safety, Bruner played volleyball at Olympic College and worked to become an American Sign Language interpreter.
After that, she said she found a need to return home.
“I’ve been in law enforcement ever since,” she said.
In 2004, Bruner rejoined Neah Bay Public Safety. There, she met her future husband, Jasper Bruner, and completed a seven-month criminal investigative training that prepared her to be a detective.
“I definitely fell in love with that,” Casandra said. “You get to dig more into cases than you do in patrol.”
In 2006, she went to the Nisqually Tribal Police Department (NPD) and served for nine years as a domestic violence police officer. Jasper joined the NPD in 2007.
In 2015, both Bruners returned to Neah Bay Public Safety. Jasper served as chief of police until 2022, while Casandra worked as a detective.
“She’s been a real stable component of our public safety and law enforcement personnel in the community,” Greene said. “She’s top notch.”
Jasper and Casandra now have four kids together, and, ever since Jasper was hired in March as the chief of police for the NPD, both parents serve at the highest level in their respective police departments.
“I’ve learned so much from him [Jasper],” Casandra said. “He’s a great role model and a great example of what I want to be as the chief of police.”
On Feb. 18, Casandra started as the interim chief of police for Neah Bay Public Safety, replacing Giovanni Baez. During that time, Greene said the council was evaluating her performance.
Although there were a few other applicants, Greene said Casandra “performed as expected, so we just closed the position” and offered it to her.
“Thank goodness she said yes,” Green added.
Casandra said her approach to law enforcement is to always lead with compassion.
“I try to really look at people and try to understand the situation they’re in,” she said. “I know they’re in a tough situation, and I don’t need to make it any worse.”
At one point, while Casandra was with the NPD, a woman who was being arrested told Casandra that she must be new, because she was still so nice.
“This is always me, and it will always be me,” Casandra said.
Now that Casandra has achieved her dream, she said her next steps are “just to serve my people.”
“I’m excited to do that, to get the department to grow and to be here when they need me,” she said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
