Meet Your Mill Creek Police

The Mill Creek Police Department consists of 23 commissioned staff members with a diverse set of strengths and skills. These traits are identified and utilized in order to build a multifaceted, well-balanced, and unstoppable force for the citizens and visitors of the City of Mill Creek.

Many opportunities have been provided, some by request and others by necessity, to our officers in order to keep their skills fresh and ahead of the constantly evolving trends and technology.

Many specialties have limited term limits for the purpose of keeping their assigned professionals diverse and challenged, as well as the most appropriate individual in the right place at the right time.

View the Police Department staff directory.

Department Personnel

Chief Stan White
Police Chief White has served in his current position since January 2021.

Sergeants & Corporals

Under the direction of the police commander, the Mill Creek Police Department has patrol sergeants and corporals who are responsible for supervising field operations and providing day-to-day guidance and mentoring of assigned patrol officers.

The patrol sergeant is considered a vital part of the department's management team. They are asked to provide input and support to the department's command staff as well supervise, evaluate, and discipline assigned personnel.

A sergeant is assigned to the Investigations division as the detective sergeant. This sergeant is responsible for the supervision of detective(s), as well as reviewing and assigning cases for additional investigation, and tracking registered sex offenders within the city limits. The detective sergeant is also responsible for their own case load.

Many sergeants and corporals serve in additional capacities and assist in administrative functions such as scheduling, training, fleet maintenance supervision, SNOCOM TAC, and many more.

Patrol

Under the direction of the police commander, the Patrol Division is the largest team within the Police Department. There are four patrol squads consisting of a shift sergeant and several officers who are responsible for providing law enforcement services to the community.

The men and women who serve in Patrol are highly trained professionals who work to keep the city safe by providing law enforcement services to the City of Mill Creek 24 hours per day and 365 days per year.

The normal 12-hour work shift for a patrol officer consists of responding to both urgent and routine calls for service reported from Mill Creek businesses, residents, and visitors.

When not assigned to calls for service, patrol officers make vehicle stops, check suspicious persons, and proactively patrol the city. Many patrol officers have specialized training and serve in additional capacities such as fleet maintenance, collision investigation, and crisis negotiation.

Officers are also trained as instructors with the duty of keeping all officers' skills up to date with firearms, radar / LIDAR, defensive tactics, and emergency vehicle operation education and trainings.

Investigations

Under the direction of a detective sergeant, the Investigations division is responsible for follow-up, long-term investigations, maintaining criminal intelligence, and undercover narcotics enforcement.

The Investigations division and the Patrol Division work closely in achieving investigative and enforcement objectives.

This division consists of detective(s) whose primary duties and responsibilities include the follow-up investigation of all felony crimes and certain misdemeanor crimes. This may consist of:

Arrest of suspects
Developing additional leads in an investigation
Gathering and processing evidence
Preparation and service of search warrants
Preparation of cases for presentation in court
Preparation of suspect composites
Recovery of stolen property
Surveillance

Specialty Services

Collision Investigation Unit
The Mill Creek Police Department Collision Investigation Unit is comprises investigators with a minimum of 400 hours of specialized training in vehicle collision dynamics. The unit investigates collisions from minor fender benders to criminal collisions, to include vehicular assault and vehicular homicide. Mill Creek officers trained in this specialty have networked with local agencies extensively for the purpose of training and sharing resources for these highly detailed collision investigations. Officer C. White is currently assigned to this unit and is experienced in providing the fullest assistance to all parties involved in motor vehicle collisions.

Honor Guard Unit
The Mill Creek Police Department has been fortunate to select and contribute Corporal Bittinger to represent the department in the South Snohomish County Honor Guard. The Honor Guard participates in ceremonies for fallen officers and veterans. In addition, the Honor Guard also participates in other events such as parades, memorials, and special events. Learn more about "our" Honor Guard.

K-9 Unit

The Mill Creek Police Department K-9 Unit was established in 2012. Officer Lerma and K-9 Bagira were required to complete a 400 hour training course as well as certify yearly per the standards of the Washington State Police Canine Association. They were certified for obedience, tracking and apprehending suspects in fall 2017. After additional training Officer Lerma and K-9 Bagira were certified in June 2018 as a narcotic detection team, attaining 100 percent proficiency in the detection of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. This exhaustive level of constant training is required in order to develop a proficient, productive, and effective canine team. The Mill Creek Canine Unit addresses the priorities of our police department with its unique approach to addressing criminal activity. Officer Lerma and K-9 Bagira have brought countless benefits to the Mill Creek community thereby enhancing the overall quality of life of the citizens and visitors of this community.

Police Support Officer
The Mill Creek Police Department Police Support Officer (PSO) consists of a limited-commission police officer who acts as support to the Patrol and Investigative Units of the department. This position is currently filled by Officer Pigott who has successfully completed the Corrections Academy as well as extensive training in Animal Control. The PSO provides a wide variety of support services to patrol officers, citizens, and visitors of Mill Creek. These services include: animal control, block watch programs, code enforcement, crime prevention, human assistance, lost and found property, parking enforcement, prisoner transport, and support to patrol officers.

School Resource Officer
Under the direction of the detective sergeant, the school resource officer (SRO) is responsible for ensuring the safety, security, and positive learning environment in our local schools. In every effort to uphold this standard, the SRO must work closely with parents, teachers, administrators, students, and members of the community. With a foundation based on the three core responsibilities of educator, informal counselor, and law enforcement officer, the SRO takes on several primary duties in his role. These duties may consist of teaching law related topics in a classroom setting, counseling students, and responding to calls for service both on and off school grounds (threats, assaults, drug investigations, theft, etc.). The SRO must successfully balance all roles on a day-to-day basis while remaining impartial, compassionate, and professional. This position is highly respected by both the City of Mill Creek and the Everett School District.

SWAT
The SWAT logo

The Mill Creek Police Department is a member agency of The North Sound Metro SWAT Team. North Sound Metro SWAT is a regional Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team that is composed of two distinct elements: the SWAT (tactical) team, and the Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT). The team comprises officers from the following municipal jurisdictions: Bothell, Edmonds, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo and Redmond.

The team services a population base of well over a quarter million residents. Current approved staffing for tactical operators is 36, plus three team commanders. The Hostage Negotiation Team is allotted 13 officers. The SWAT team is an on-call unit trained to address and resolve the most serious or highly volatile situations. SWAT officers are trained to serve high risk search warrants, arrest violent suspects, successfully resolve hostage situations, and barricaded criminal suspects. Members of the SWAT team are highly trained, highly capable officers who work to resolve the most dangerous of police calls peacefully. The SWAT team also incorporates highly trained officers as Crisis Negotiators. These officers utilize special training and verbal tactics to “talk” violent persons or persons experiencing behavioral health crises into surrendering to law enforcement.

Over the last five years, North Sound Metro SWAT has responded to an average of seven incidents per year (includes planned search warrants as well as callouts). In addition, SWAT officers spent more than 240 hours per year training to keep their skills sharp and to remain efficient utilizing team tactics.

Traffic Safety Unit
The Mill Creek Police Department Traffic Unit combines education and enforcement to provide safe streets to our residents, visitors and commuters.