Patti Jackson steps in as Tacoma’s interim police chief after delayed start

The new interim Tacoma police chief has begun her first day on the job.

Patti Jackson was originally set to take over the department on February 24, but the administrative processes delayed her start.

The city of Tacoma released a statement last month highlighting Jackson’s 35 years of law enforcement and noting her extensive leadership with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

“Protecting people with compassion, equity, accountability, and trust is one of the most important responsibilities in local government,” Tacoma City Manager Elizabeth Pauli stated. “Patti Jackson has proven experience most recently leading Pierce County’s Patrol Operations as chief and prior to that, serving the Corrections Bureau for eight years as chief.”

Jackson served as the basic law enforcement academy corrections commander at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. She also ran to become Pierce County Sheriff last November before losing to Keith Swank by just under 8,000 votes.

Jackson is eager to begin her work with the Tacoma Police Department (TPD).

“The Tacoma Police Department has significantly lowered violent crime levels and built strong community relationships, especially in the past few years,” Jackson said in the city’s statement. “I look forward to prioritizing public safety while strengthening established relationships and fostering new ones.”

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Patti Jackson replaces Avery Moore as Tacoma police chief

Jackson is taking over for Avery Moore, who resigned from the position about a month ago.

“After 35 incredible years in law enforcement, I have made the heartfelt decision to step away from this noble profession and transition into the next chapter of my life,” Moore said in a statement.

Moore was temporarily put on administrative leave back in September.

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH reported in January that Moore had been absent from duty for nearly two months, but the city said it could not provide an explanation. Police union leadership expected an imminent separation announcement ahead of Moore’s resignation.

The absence coincided with a brutal employee engagement survey blasting the former chief’s leadership in addition to accusations of “cooking the books” to reclassify drive-by shootings as “vandalism.” It had reached the point where the union head called for his termination.

Tacoma Police Union IUPA Local 6 president Sgt. Henry Betts exclusively told “The Jason Rantz Show” the department had been experiencing “chaos” and “dysfunction.”

“We are in absolute chaos with who is leading this place and who is in charge, to the point that we’re calling meetings with executives at the police department to say we don’t know anything,” Betts shared.

Betts said Moore had been absent for about six consecutive weeks and that the city wasn’t telling them why.

“I can tell you, in my 22 years, I have never seen that before,” Betts said. “Do things happen in people’s lives where they need to be away from work? Yeah, absolutely that happens. But usually, what we would see is there’s kind of a handoff.”

After being placed on administrative leave on Sept. 25, 2024, without any explanation, Moore resumed his full duties, according to a statement from Pauli published and distributed about a week later on October 2.

In her statement, Pauli explained she placed Moore on leave to investigate potential personal use of an asset belonging to the city of Tacoma and subsequent statements made relating to the use of that asset.

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Contributing: Steve Coogan; Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest; Katrina Guischard, KIRO Newsradio

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