Troy Price, hoping to have the interim tag taken off of his title, is looking forward to leading a department that could help make Vancouver the safety city in the state

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

The lone candidate for the job of Vancouver’s chief of police made his case Wednesday night at a forum, hoping to take the “interim” tag off of his current title.

Interim Chief of Police Troy Price talked about his passion for his profession and his home of Vancouver, and gave his vision for the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) at a forum held at Evergreen Public Schools’ Administrative Service Center.

After working as a police officer for nearly four years in Chicago, Price moved to Vancouver in 1997 to work for VPD.

“I’ve had a great career here and truly adopted Vancouver as my home,” Price said in his opening remarks. “I will go back to Chicago for pizza and hot dogs and watch the Bears play, but that’s it. Otherwise, I am here.”

He recalled when moving to the Northwest that he envisioned perhaps becoming a sergeant and retiring after 25 or so years.

“I came here, it was a job,” he said. “Now it’s more than that. It’s part of who I am.”

He said he will serve the city in whatever capacity he is chosen, but he wants the job of chief of police and believes he is more ready for that responsibility than at any time in his career.

Interestingly, this is not the first time he has gone for the top job. In retrospect, he is grateful he did not get the job earlier.

“Our department has had really good leaders,” Price said, with a specific salute to Jeff Mori, who retired in October. “He and I competed for the chief’s job. He got it. I didn’t. I thank God I didn’t because I had so much to learn from him. 

“This is the next step for me,” Price continued. “I’m not tooting my own horn, but this is good for the agency, that kind of consistency of somebody understanding how VPD works.”

Price answered questions from a panel, as well as submitted questions from the dozens of people in the audience. The event was also broadcast live on CVTV.

Vancouver City Manager Long Pluckhahn also explained why the city held this event.

“The purpose of the forum is really to help make sure the community gets the opportunity to meet our candidate for police chief,” Pluckhahn said. 

One of the duties as city manager is the selection of the chief of police.

“It’s not something I would ever want to do without community involvement,” Pluckhahn said.

Price took questions from the panel for a little more than 60 minutes, then talked individually with a gathering of folks for another 30 minutes.

Here are some of the highlights of what Price had to say on a variety of subjects:

Accountability and transparency

“It should not be a mystery to the community how this police department operates,” Price said.

If a police department operates as a separate entity from the community, it loses public trust. 

“That’s not what I’m about,” Price said.

He was asked about how he would ensure transparency in officer-involved shootings or use of force incidents. 

He described the body-camera program that VPD uses as a “game-changer.” 

Price said he will continue with the current policy of releasing video in a timely manner after such incidents.

As far as holding police officers accountable, Price said it is never fun to be part of a process that calls into question an officer’s behavior, but it has to be done. If one of his officers does something wrong, there will be consequences.. He told a story of an investigation that led to an officer having to leave the department. 

“Officer accountability is about … maintaining the integrity of the department,” Price said. “The public has to trust us.”

Relationship building

Price was told that community members want their chief to be approachable. He was asked how he would build relationships with the city and community, including groups that have been underrepresented. 

“I firmly believe in making as many non-enforcement related contacts as possible,” Price said.

He noted the Chief’s Diversity Advisory Team, which he said will continue to build relationships.

“There’s nothing that can substitute for us getting out and meeting people in the community. One of the things I will always advocate for is getting our folks to as many events as possible,” Price said.

Price also highlighted the Neighborhood Police Officer program, “fantastic” officers, he said, who make contacts and connect people in the city with services they never knew existed.

“Because not every problem is a police problem,” Price said.

The NPO program also gives feedback, which the department can use to adjust its enforcement efforts. 

That all comes from building relationships, Price said.

Law enforcement and homelessness

Price said law enforcement’s response to the homeless has to be “compassionate.”

“Fixing homelessness is not a police issue, per say. Helping direct people who are homeless into the services they truly need to address their housing situation … I think we’re well positioned to help guide people,” Price said.

Student Resource Officers

Price was asked his thoughts on School Resource Officers at local schools. He noted that the city used to have a robust program with its school districts, but for a variety of reasons, the SRO program is no longer in use.

He hopes to bring back SROs on campus.

“When you have the right officers doing their job, there’s nothing better for improving a student’s life and increasing safety within the schools,” Price said.

He always loved hearing from young adults who would ask about their former SRO, someone who made a positive influence in their lives when they were students.

“They develop those healthy, mentorship relationships,” Price said.

Staffing issues do present a problem, but Price said he wants to solve that problem.

“The ultimate goal is to get back to SROs,” he said.

Proposition 4

What happens if Proposition 4 — the police services levy — does not pass?

Price said the department has plans in place for if the proposition passes or fails.

“Our No. 1 directive is to be the responding entity whenever there is a call to 9-1-1. In terms of that, we will maintain that level of service for our community,” Price said.

There could be other areas that will be limited or revamped, he added, but the police will be ready in an emergency.

“We always want to be there to answer the call,” he said.

Diversity within the department

What would Price do to encourage more applicants who are female and people of color?

“No. 1, we want the best people for the job serving our community. That’s where we start,” Price said. “No. 2, we increase our recruitment efforts in those communities.”

Price said those actions are taking place. The passing of Proposition 4 would also help, allowing for the department to seek more applicants.

“We want a diverse department. We want a department that reflects the community that it serves. It makes us better. It gives us a higher level of trust within the community,” he said.

A person in a mental health crisis

Price was asked how the department would respond to a person experiencing a mental health crisis. 

“If there is a way to deescalate the situation, that is the path we pursue first,” Price said. “Someone who is in crisis is truly crying out for help.”

Try to get that person the help that they need. Price said one way to think about it is a doctor taking the Hippocratic Oath. “First, do no harm,” he said. 

“We’re here to help. We’re not here to harm,” Price added.

Top priorities for VPD

Price said he will always seek to have the department fully staffed. He also wants to maximize the use of technology. The body cameras and the cameras in the vehicles are working, but he expects even more from VPD with the use of technology.

And then a promise:

“Make the city of Vancouver the safest metropolitan city in the state of Washington,” Price said. “And we will do that.”

Closing remarks

Price said there is great experience at the high levels of the department, filled with compassionate people.

“I’m proud to lead a team like this, even as interim. There is something special about this group,” Price said. “I would love the opportunity to continue to lead here. The city deserves a police department that we are willing to give, this city deserves to be taken care of by their police department. The city deserves to have a police department it can trust. … We won’t let you down.”