Tommy Collins selected as Shoreline’s new Police Chief

New Shoreline Police Chief
Tommy Collins

City Manager Bristol Ellington has selected Tommy Collins of the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) to be the City’s new Police Chief. 

Collins replaces Kelly Park who was promoted to Chief of the Patrol Operations Division of KCSO. 

Collins' first day will be September 28, 2024. Captain Brian Angelo is currently serving as the interim Police Chief.

Collins has been with KCSO for over 25 years and is currently the Chief of Police for Maple Valley. (Maple Valley, like Shoreline, is a contract city with KCSO.) 

Prior to becoming Chief in Maple Valley, Collins held numerous positions within KCSO. These include patrol, storefront deputy, school resource deputy, Field Training Officer, Master Police Officer, and Detective for the Joint Transit Anti-Terrorism Team.

In 2015, Collins was promoted to Sergeant for KCSO and served as a patrol sergeant and an administrative sergeant for both KCSO Precinct 2 and the City of Maple Valley. 

During his tenure as a sergeant, Collins was recognized as Precinct 2’s Sergeant of the Year in 2015, and Precinct 3’s Sergeant of the Year in 2018. 

In April 2020, Collins was promoted to Captain and served as the administrative Captain for KCSO’s Sound Transit contract. 

In 2021, Collins was selected to take over KCSO’s Special Operations section, where he served until his selection as Chief of Police for the City of Maple Valley.

Prior to joining KCSO, Collins served in the United States Navy aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and completed two deployments to the Middle East.

Collins has an Associate of Arts degree from the Florida Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University, and an Executive MBA from Washington State University. In addition, he is a graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police, as well as from the FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Program.

“I look forward to working with Chief Collins,” stated City Manager Bristol Ellington. “He is committed to transparency and leading a police force that everyone in the Shoreline community can be proud of and where everyone feels respected.”

“I am honored that the City of Shoreline has chosen me to be their new Chief of Police,” said Collins. “This is a wonderful community, and I am excited to be here. I am looking forward to serving the residents of Shoreline.”

The City’s Leadership Team, a community panel made up of Shoreline residents and business owners, and the City Manager, interviewed two candidates forwarded by KCSO. 

In addition, the City hosted a virtual public forum to allow the candidates to introduce themselves to the community and to answer questions.

Rather than administering its own police force, the City of Shoreline contracts with KCSO for police services. Officers work for King County but are dedicated to Shoreline so they get to know the community. The police chief reports to the King County Sheriff and the Shoreline City Manager.