PORT ANGELES — Two officers with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Police Department have been sworn in as special commissioned officers of the Port Angeles Police Department.
The special police commission allows the officers to work as police officers in the city of Port Angeles only during those times that the PAPD is in need of additional resources.
Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher swore in Lower Elwha Klallam Officers Darwin Green and Donald Kitchen as special commissioned officers at the Lower Elwha Gathering Place, the tribe’s community center, on Monday.
Interlocal agreement
The commissions were issued under terms of an interlocal agreement signed between the city of Port Angeles and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe in 2010.
Under state law, officers receiving the commission must have completed the Washington State Basic Police Academy or its equivalent.
The police authority granted under the commission becomes active only when law enforcement assistance is requested by the Port Angeles Police Department.
The same interlocal agreement grants identical authority to Port Angeles officers and allows PAPD to lawfully extend assistance to Lower Elwha tribal police upon request.
The Port Angeles Police Department and the Lower Elwha Police Department have a long history of providing assistance to one another when such help is necessary, Gallagher said.
“The fact that PAPD can commission the tribal officers is recognition of the efforts extended by the Lower Elwha community in developing a well-trained, professional police organization over the course of many years,” he said.
“Three Lower Elwha officers have now been cross-commissioned through PAPD.”
Cross-commissioning is commonly used by law enforcement because it allows police agencies to maximize area resources for the protection of the broader community.
PAPD officers are cross-commissioned by both the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Olympic National Park.
