Who is Kennewick’s new assistant chief and will he be taking over?
Chris Guerrero’s decision to become a police officer was influenced by his father, a reserve Adams County sheriff’s deputy.
“I watched the satisfaction he had with helping people and being able to provide a service, and I wanted that,” said Kennewick’s new assistant police chief. “So that’s what I went to college for right after high school.”
Last week the 25-year veteran of the Kennewick Police Department was promoted to the second-in-command of the 108-officer force — a post that hasn’t existed since before 2007.
What remains unclear is if Guerrero will take over for Chief Ken Hohenberg when he retires in February 2022.
Hohenberg described the assistant chief position as similar to one held by now Kennewick schools Superintendent Traci Pierce before she assumed the top job from retired Superintendent Dave Bond.
Guerrero will be learning the job of police chief with Hohenberg’s guidance.
City Manager Marie Mosley will have the final say if Guerrero is hired as chief.
“I’m coming into this position to do the best job I possibly can,” Guerrero told the Herald. “If it plays out that way, I would be more than honored to be the chief, but I am not putting the cart before the horse.”
Hohenberg told the Herald he has discussed the position with Mosley, and he believes Guerrero can do the job.
“I have full confidence if he was selected by the city manager, he’s certainly going to be able to step into that position and also be a great ambassador to the community,” Hohenberg said. “If I was the city manager, I would pick him.”
Guerrero praised Hohenberg’s leadership during Thursday’s ceremony.
“This is because of you,” he said. “Your leadership, your mentorship, just being able to watch you do what you do, is why this (department) is what it is.”
Guerrero’s history
Guerrero grew up in Othello, where he met and married his high school sweetheart. They have two children, a 15-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son.
“Our parents actually went to high school together,” he told the Herald. “So we have known each other since we were very little.”
Growing up, Guerrero’s family had a strong desire to serve the community. Along with being a reserve deputy, his father worked for the state Department of Transportation. His mom works for the Department of Social and Health Services and his brother is a corrections officer.
“I love the community, love helping people,” he said.
Guerrero graduated with his associate’s degree from Spokane Community College in 1995, and joined Kennewick police in January 1996.
For the next seven years, he was in the patrol division. He held spots as a field training officer and a defensive tactics instructor. He was also one of the first members of what was at the time, the Benton County SWAT team.
Guerrero went to work in the private sector for a year before returning to the department.
“I was fortunate to see how much the business world correlated with police work,” he said. “We need to provide the best product that we can provide for our customers, which are the citizens.”
After returning to the department in 2004, Guerrero worked as a detective, a patrol sergeant, and joined the FBI violent gangs task force.
He was promoted to commander in 2015
Along with his career, he is a member of the Pasco-Kennewick Rotary Club and is a United Way board member.
“When I got into police work, this was not my intent,” Guerrero told the Herald. “”I wanted to be a patrol sergeant that was my goal, but as you continue to do this job the goal is to do the best job you can do at the time.”