Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg stepping down after more than 40 years

Kennewick’s longest serving employee is getting ready to return to civilian life.

Police Chief Ken Hohenberg announced Tuesday night that he plans to retire at the end of February 2022, leaving the spot that he’s held for more than 40 years. The announcement came at the Kennewick City Council meeting.

The chief, who will be 66 when he retires, told the Herald it was a difficult decision to make, but he is not getting any younger.

“It would be a lot easier if I didn’t like the people I work with, the people I work for, or the people I serve,” he said. “It’s been a great fit for me.”

He had promised the city manager he would give her a year to find his successor. He turned in his official notice Monday.

By the time Hohenberg retires, he hopes the department will have weathered COVID and worked through police reform measures.

“Hopefully we will get back to more normalcy and then my successor will be able to focus on what is important, and that is our community,” he said.

Until he leaves, he has no plans of being any less active in his role.

And even after he steps down, Hohenberg does not expect to leave public service. He has a long history as a volunteer for the Columbia Center Rotary Club, The United Way, the Boys & Girls Clubs and the March of Dimes.

“My wife has been very encouraging. She knows I can’t go from 90 mph to zero,” he said. “There are still opportunities to serve. I will continue to look for things that will pique my interest.”

More than 4 decades

While the chief started in the department in 1978, his desire to be an officer started as soon as he could talk, Hohenberg told the Herald on his 40th anniversary in 2018.

He aimed for a job with Richland, including joining their police cadet program, but Kennewick called first.

When he started, he was the youngest police officer Kennewick had at that point. At that time, the city had 23,000 people, few sidewalks and a lot of gas stations.

He spent 12 years as a patrol officer, including as a motorcycle cop, and the city’s first DARE Education officer.

He was promoted to sergeant in 1984, then lieutenant in 1993, captain in 1996 and was finally named chief in 2003.

Now nearly two decades later, Hohenberg is one of the most respected police chiefs in the state.

When new chiefs reach out looking for advice, Steve Strachan, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs, tells them to talk to Hohenberg.

Strachan could offer it himself — he once served as police chief in Kent and Bremerton, but he calls Hohenberg “one of the most respected chiefs in the state and one of the most respected chiefs that I’ve ever known.”

“He’s a formal leader, but just as importantly, he’s an informal leader,” Strachan said.

As the new chief, Hohenberg said he worked through personnel changes for years while also ushering in a state-of-the-art police station.

He credits the people he hired, saying he believes in bringing on the best and the brightest.

“Even our unions have come to the conclusion that ... they would rather work short-handed, than for us to hire the wrong people,” Hohenberg said in 2018. “When we hire the wrong people it creates more work for the rest of us.”

Community leader

Along with his work as a volunteer, Hohenberg has served as a leader in forming connections between the police and the community.

“When people know who you are and when people realize that you will take care of an issue, whether it’s a crime issue or a personnel issue or some kind of challenge within the community, I think, at times, they’re not so quick to criticize.”

Bud Knore, who helped nominate Hohenberg for 2009 Tri-Citian of the Year, wrote: “When most are too busy, Ken is always available. When most are too tired, Ken is ready and eager to get started. When most think they have done their share, Ken is looking for more opportunities.”

Those relationships helped him create the Community Care Fund, which allows officers to use donations to help people down on their luck and in need of small things like gas, groceries or a motel room.

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 7:18 PM.