Shoreline to get a new police chief

City to appoint new Police Chief

Community invited to reception to meet candidates

Shoreline Police Chief Dan Pingrey has recently accepted a promotion within the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) and will be leaving the City of Shoreline on May 16, 2012. Pingrey has been promoted to Chief of KCSO’s Patrol Operations Division. The Patrol Operations Division is the largest division within the Sheriff’s Office and oversees all patrol operations for KCSO, including those for contract cities. Pingrey will be part of the Command Staff at the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Five finalists have been selected to move to the final round of interviews for the position of Police Chief. All applicants are members of the King County Sheriff’s Office. 

The five finalists are: 

• Captain Michelle Bennett, Chief of Police for the City of Maple Valley; 
• Captain Shawn Ledford, Zone Commander for the Patrol Operations Division and former Chief of Police for City of Newcastle; 
• Captain D.J. Nesel, 9-1-1 Communications Center Section Commander; 
• Captain Brad Thompson, Assistant Chief of Police for the City of Burien and former Chief of Police for the City of Sammamish; and 
• Major Jerrell Wills, East Precinct Commander.

Candidates will be interviewed by a panel of Shoreline staff, the City’s Leadership Team and City Manager Julie Underwood. 

The City will also host a community reception for the public to meet the candidates on Tuesday, May 8 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at City Hall. This will be an opportunity for the community to meet and learn more about the candidates.

 Pingrey has been a familiar face in Shoreline for a long time. He has been the Chief of the Shoreline Police Department since 2008. Before becoming Chief, Pingrey also served as a sergeant from 1996 to 1998 and was Shoreline’s captain from 2005 to 2007. Pingrey has been with the King County Sheriff’s Office for 23 years after starting his career in Kirkland.

  “Dan has been a great asset to the City,” says Shoreline City Manager Julie Underwood. “We are sorry to see him go, but we are very excited for him and congratulate him on his promotion!”

  “I truly have enjoyed working with our citizens, officers and City staff to make Shoreline a safe community,” stated Pingrey. “The candidates that have applied for the Chief’s position have a tremendous amount of experience and are excited about the opportunity to work in the City.”

Rather than administering its own police force, the City of Shoreline contracts with King County Sheriff’s Office for police services. Although Officers work for King County, they are assigned to work specifically in Shoreline and focus on building relationships with the Shoreline community. The police chief reports to the King County Sheriff and the Shoreline City Manager.