Tumwater City Council approves Carlos Quiles Jr. for full-time police chief position
After serving as the Tumwater Police Department's interim chief since January, members of the Tumwater City Council voted unanimously to officially make Carlos Quiles Jr. the Thurston County city's official police chief during the council's regular meeting on Tuesday, June 2.
The vote came after the council amended city code last month to include council approval for the city's police chief along with mayoral appointment, as previously reported by The Chronicle.
While the council approved making Quiles Jr. chief, his official swearing in and pinning ceremony will be held at the next Tumwater City Council meeting, when Tumwater Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff will officially appoint him.
Quiles Jr. has served with the Tumwater Police Department for over 24 years, including 15 years as a SWAT officer.
He began serving as interim chief at the beginning of the year after Dahlhoff terminated then-Tumwater Police Chief Jay Manson's contract upon assuming office.
In Tumwater, the chief of police serves the mayor as an at-will employee, and the mayor has full authority to replace the police chief, according to Mason.
In a Tumwater Police Department blog post just before his last days as chief, Mason stated, "I have complete confidence in his (Quiles's) leadership, his judgment and his ability to guide this organization forward ... I believe that a new mayor should have the opportunity to build a leadership team that aligns with their vision for the city."
At Tuesday's meeting, Quiles Jr. told the council he was honored to accept their approval.
"I'm very humbled. I appreciate the process. The transparency that went into it was really important," Quiles Jr. said.
The councilors added they supported Quiles Jr. and liked how he has been running the department for the past six months.
The next Tumwater City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, June 17, starting at 7 p.m., at Tumwater City Hall, located at 555 Israel Road SW in Tumwater.
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