Chief Tufts to retire after 42 years in law enforcement

Things have changed over the last four decades in law enforcement. John Tufts has witnessed the changes.

The police chief in Grand Coulee is retiring in March, and agreed to chat about what he's learned along the way.

There's less respect for people in general now, a change that started about the time cell phones became popular 25 years or so ago.

Tufts isn't talking about respect for police, just for people in general, and it's linked to a lack of communication, linked to age, which has an effect on police.

"Older people will talk to their neighbors, where younger people won't," he observes. "They will call the police for just little stuff ... your water's watering my grass."

That can lead to more calls to police just to settle disputes among neighbors whose standards for, say, yard neatness differ.

Moderate cultural changes aside, policing also changed when the Legislature decriminalized drug use a couple years ago, Tufts said. People show less respect for police.

"When the Legislature did that, it changed the way people act. ... you can't be policed, because, you know, we don't do that anymore."

He recalled that last week a suspected fentanyl user refused to be "preached to by a cop" who hoped he wouldn't be picked up in a body bag someday.

Tufts said that in the 1980s the area suffered a lot of burglaries, then again eight to ten years ago, but that problem was related to groups of specific people.

These days, drug users who find an open car will "go inside, take what's yours, and convert it to drugs," a problem made worse since drug use was decriminalized, Tufts said.

Currently, Tufts estimated, the community hosts about 15-20 "couch surfers" who flop where they can and use drugs.

Tufts started as a deputy in the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office in March 1982. Two years later, he hired on at the Grand Coulee Police Department as a patrol officer under Chief Mel Hunt. He later became a sergeant, then moved into the chief's office when Hunt retired, first as interim chief, then chief.

The department has six officers, currently one short of a full department. Four positions are allocated for work on a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, three for the city.

Tufts enjoys interacting with people in his job, and he likes that every day is different.

The biggest thing he's learned in his career applies to much more than police work.

"The biggest thing I think I've learned is, just keep your mouth shut," Tufts said. "Think with your head, not with your heart, because emotions will affect what you say. ... Take a minute. Use your brain, not your feelings."

The city has a handful of applicants interested in filling the chief position in Grand Coulee, some external to the city, some current employees, Tufts said.

On March 21, he will have put in 40 years with the city, but he'll be using up his last vacation time by then. His last official day is March 25.