One of these 2 men will be Richland’s next top cop
Dozens of people turned out Thursday to meet Richland’s new police chief.
But it’s not clear which of the two men at an informal gathering will have the title when city officials make their final decision.
Al Escalera and Dominic Rizzi Jr. were in town this week for what is expected to be the final round of interviews. Officials have been looking a replacement for former Chief Chris Skinner since he left to lead the Eugene, Ore., Police Department in April.
The new chief’s paycheck will be somewhere between $96,969 and $145,433. He will be responsible for 65 officers along with the 46 employees working for Benton County Emergency Services.
Escalera would bring 34 years of law enforcement experience to what he called a premier police agency in a premier city. After a year at the Pasco Police Department, he joined the Washington State Patrol, where he worked for 26 years.
He spent a little more than two years as a captain in West Richland before becoming police chief in Sunnyside. There he heads a department of 31 officers and runs a dispatch center and a 97 bed jail.
“Today, I lead change. I lead substantial change. And we had to do that in the Valley,” he said. “Coming here, there are some significant challenges in Richland. It has a huge footprint, and that footprint constantly expands.”
He plans to build on the strengths of the people already in the department, he said.
Rizzi said he wants to bring his 35 years of experience in law enforcement to a community where he can make a difference. He started in the U.S. Army as a member of the military police. After a short stint at the University of Chicago, he spent 25 years at the Chicago Police Department.
He left the Midwest to take over the Yakima Police Department in 2012, where he oversees more than 140 officers and a support staff of 40 employees.
“When you have 500,000 people, how can the chief make a difference?” he asked, referring to his time in Chicago. “In a community this size, I meet more people, I can have more of an impact.”
Both candidates have ties to Richland. For Escalera, who brought several of his family members to the event, the Tri-Cities is still home. He has family living in the area, and he has ties to the local police agencies.
Rizzi’s connection comes through his wife, a practicing Buddhist. When they moved to Yakima, they couldn’t find a local temple. She found one in Richland.
The two men went in for their final interviews on Friday with City Manager Cindy Reents and Assistant City Manager Jon Amundson. No announcement has been made yet.