Exclusive | Former Richland police chief paid as much as $81,000 to resign

The former Richland police chief will be paid $58,000 to $81,000 as part of an agreement to resign after less than three years with the city.

The agreement obtained by the Tri-City Herald promises Chief John Bruce five months salary, plus five months of health insurance coverage.

It’s signed by Bruce and new City Manager Jon Amundson on the day Richland announced Bruce’s resignation, four days before he officially left office on Friday, Jan. 28.

In exchange, Bruce agreed he would not sue the city or file an insurance claim.

The agreement does not stop him from filing a claim of discrimination, harassment or retaliation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or with the Washington Human Rights Commission. However, he agreed if any claim was awarded in his favor, the city would not have to pay him any damages.

The Herald received a copy of the agreement under the Washington state Public Records Act.

City officials would not release last week how much the chief was being paid annually, but the 2022 city budget says the police chief position is paid $139,000 and $195,000 a year.

Reasons for leaving

The public was given no reason for Bruce’s sudden resignation.

Bruce declined to tell the Herald why he was leaving, but said he did not have another job lined up.

As part of the agreement, the city also promised that they would tell prospective employers that he voluntarily resigned, and Bruce could direct someone to sign a “neutral, factually accurate reference letter penned by Bruce and approved by the city.”

The city agreed to list him as “eligible for rehire,” as long as he doesn’t try to get another job with the city of Richland.

Bruce, who has 32 years of law enforcement experience, came into office with a big push to increase communication.

He took regular rides with officers and helped start neighborhood watch groups, and an online crime map was added after his arrival.

His last tweets about riding along with an officer came in October 2020. His final tweet as police chief was Jan. 14 when he participated in the light up the night walk.

Still, some in the community grew frustrated with the department’s tight lid on information released on crime in the city.

In particular, several council members commented about the lack of communication on the February 2021 officer-involved shooting of Charlie Suarez along the Richland bypass highway.

Police were looking for Suarez after he rolled his SUV. Officer Christian Jabri found him on a walking trail and believed he was armed when he fired five shots at him, wounding Suarez in the hip and leg.

Investigators later revealed Suarez did not have a weapon.

A group of prosecutors from outside the Tri-Cities reviewed the case and called it “troubling,” but concluded that Jabri acted in “good faith” under the law.

Richland police never disclosed publicly that Suarez was unarmed. It came out first from Suarez’s attorney and then as part of a Regional Special Investigations Unit report.

There also was backlash in August after Richland hired a former Seattle police officer who had been fired for violating department policies in a shooting that wounded two people in 2017.

At the time, Bruce told the Herald that the officer cleared all of the department’s rigorous reviews and he expected him to do well in Richland. He said everyone has made mistakes, and officers are often put into situations where they only have seconds to react.

The city declined last week to release Bruce’s last two performance reviews to the Herald.

City Attorney Heather Kintzley said in a redaction log that “public employees’ performance evaluations with no discussion of specific incidents of misconduct are not subject to public disclosure.”

Interim Chief

Deputy Chief Brigit Clary stepped into the role as the interim police chief.

She has 24 years in law enforcement, including with the Port of Seattle Police Department and most of her career at the Federal Way Police Department.

During her career she has worked as a field training officer, a drug recognition expert and a major crimes detective.

In Richland, she quickly moved up the ranks from sergeant, lieutenant and then captain since joining the city in 2017. She was appointed to the newly created position of deputy chief in November 2021.

She also has headed up several cases handled by the Regional Special Investigations Unit. The unit uses detectives from across Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties to investigate officer-related shootings

“We at the Richland Police Department have a great relationship with surrounding agencies,” she said in a Jan. 31 Facebook post on the Richland police page. “I want to thank the City of Richland for the trust placed in me and I plan on continuing to earn that trust every day.”

Richland officials said in a news release at the time Bruce resigned that information about the plan to recruit a new chief will be revealed in coming months, but has yet to make an announcement.

The department has 68 sworn officers with a total 84 full-time employees.

The last time the city searched for a new police chief started in April 2018 when former Richland Chief Chris Skinner left to take over the Eugene, Ore., police department.

Richland initially brought in two candidates — Sunnyside Police Chief Al Escalera and former Yakima Chief Dominic Rizzi, Jr. — in August 2018 to meet the public. Weeks later, city officials decided not to hire either candidate.

Then they started a second search that brought three candidates, including Bruce, to Richland in May 2019.

Bruce started with the city in June 2019. He was hired away from the Frisco, Texas, police force, where he led a larger police department of 215 officers and 115 civilians. He had worked for that agency since 1996.