Kennewick names new police chief. He’s been with the city 26 years

Kennewick has chosen Assistant Police Chief Chris Guerrero as the city’s new police chief.

His new job starts March 1.

“Assistant Chief Guerrero will continue the exceptional leadership needed to serve our organization and community at the highest level upon Chief Hohenberg’s retirement,” City Manager Marie Mosley wrote about her decision in an 8:30 p.m. news release.

He will be sworn-in at the March 1 council meeting.

Hohenberg announced a year ago plans to retire this month after 40 years with the city. He was elected in November to a seat on the Port of Kennewick.

Last year, Guerrero was promoted to the city’s first assistant police chief in more than 10 years.

That gave him a chance to work with Hohenberg and learn more about running the 108-officer department.

Guerrero began his career with the Kennewick department in 1996.

“I’m excited to continue to work with the men and women of the Kennewick Police Department, our city team, regional partners and the Kennewick community to provide the best public safety possible,” he said in a statement.

Public service

Guerrero grew up in Othello where he developed a strong sense of 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,” Guerrero told the Herald last year.

He joined the Kennewick force in January 1996. He has a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University in criminal justice and criminology and completed the FBI National Academy in 2016 and police executive senior management training in 2021.

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 last year. “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.

“When I got into police work, this was not my intent,” Guerrero told the Herald at the time. “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.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 10:02 PM.