City of Olympia pauses police chief search again after candidate withdraws from race

Olympia City Manager Jay Burney announced on Friday that the search for the city’s next police chief is being put on hold for a second time, this time because candidate Kenton Buckner has withdrawn from consideration.

According to a city press release, Buckner was Burney’s preferred candidate for police chief, a position that hasn’t been filled for more than two years. A first search to fill the post was put on hold after a previous candidate’s background check revealed troubling information that disqualified him.

Buckner was one of three finalists alongside Mark Bliss, Deputy Chief in charge of support operations at the Detroit Police Department in Michigan, and William Riley III, retired Police Chief for the city of Inkster, Michigan.

In the release, Buckner said he was withdrawing from candidacy due to personal reasons. According to Syracuse.com, Buckner also announced his resignation as the chief of police for the Syracuse Police Department on Friday, citing personal reasons as well.

“I make this decision with appreciation for the experience of getting to know the people of the Olympia Police Department and the community,” he said in the city’s release. “It has been a privilege. I also have great gratitude for the professional and respectful way in which I have been treated by the City administration throughout every stage of the process.”

In the release, Burney said Olympia is among many jurisdictions in the country that are struggling to find the right people for these important positions of power.

“Our search for a new police chief has been long and challenging, and I am disappointed that, despite a strong recruiting process with good community input, we cannot announce a new chief,” Burney said.

“While today’s development will temporarily delay a final decision, we are fortunate that our police department is in solid hands with strong interim leadership.”

Rich Allen is currently serving as interim police chief.

This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 12:03 PM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription