Pasco cop to retire after 30-year career

PASCO — After three decades as a Pasco police officer, Capt. Mike Aldridge is going to turn in his badge and become a civilian.

Aldridge, who oversees the Pasco Police Department's domestic violence coordinator and the records division, is retiring May 31.

In his 30 years as a Pasco officer, Aldridge has seen the city go from fewer than 20,000 people to more than 60,000.

Aldridge, 58, was one of the officers who stood guard in the hospital over the sole survivor of the 1987 Pasco body shop murders that left five men dead.

And he has been a part of taking the city from one of the highest crime rates in the state to one of the lowest.

He joined the Pasco department in March 1981 after serving eight years in the Air Force.

Police Chief Denis Austin said Aldridge was one of the officers who quickly embraced the idea of community-orientated policing and helped teach the philosophy to other officers. It's a philosophy that city officials have credited with helping Pasco cut crime.

Aldridge said the whole idea is to reach out to people and be part of the community. As an officer who had been with the department for years, Aldridge said he saw the potential and was willing to give it a chance.

And he said they saw results. Residents understood how the police department worked, they were more willing to talk with police and participate in partnerships, such as neighborhood watch programs.

Aldridge earned the Franklin Kreml Award for Leadership in 2004 after completing an intense, 10-week course on police administration and command at the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety School.

And he also went to Russia in 2000 to teach Russian officers community-orientated policing as a certified instructor for the Western Regional Institute for Community-Orientated Public Safety.

Aldridge's organizational skills and strength with details set him apart as an officer, said Austin, who worked with Aldridge for 16 years.

"He is an analytical kind of guy," he said.

That helped with the grant applications that Aldridge has been in charge of writing and keeping track of for the department, Austin said.

Aldridge has always been serious about his job, Austin said, but he also is someone who always has something funny to say.

Aldridge intends to stay in Pasco after retirement. He plans to fish, relax and do some yard work during the summer before he decides what's next.

What's next will likely include some form of community involvement such as volunteering, he said.

A reception is planned for Aldridge on from 3 to 5 p.m. May 31, at the Pasco Senior Center, 1315 N. Seventh Ave. The public is invited.

-- Kristi Pihl: 582-1512; kpihl@tricityherald.com

This story was originally published May 24, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Pasco cop to retire after 30-year career."