Departing Lakewood police chief has toughed it out

Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar has been through a lot in the past six years.

A few weeks ago Farrar’s father died. In 2012, his younger sister died; in 2010, he and his wife battled cancer. And in 2009, four Lakewood officers were killed.

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“[My wife and I] decided hey, it’s time to kind of scale things back a little bit and relax and enjoy each other’s company for a while,” the outgoing chief told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show this week.

Farrar has policed Lakewood since 1988. It wasn’t until his four colleagues were killed by Maurice Clemmons in a coffee shop that he gained national attention.

The death of the four officers “pushed me out into the forefront of law enforcement,” he told Dori.

“I’m pretty proud of how we handled it in Lakewood,” he added. “I think [everyone] did an amazing job and continued to provide some good, solid policing for the community of Lakewood.”

But as a police chief, how do you handle a situation like what the department faced in 2009, Dori wondered.

“The most important thing you can learn is when not to exercise authority,” Farrar responded. “I let people do what they needed to do to get by.”

Farrar will not be remembered just for how he handled the deaths of fellow officers, however. There is a lighter side to his legacy; the show COPS, for example.

Viewers of COPS will notice Lakewood was a hot spot for filming. An episode in 1990, which Farrar was in, won an Emmy.

“They won an Emmy and I got a T-shirt and a hat,” Farrar quipped.

Farrar’s retirement will be effective April 6, after almost 27 years on the job.