Kennewick police chief gets day in honor of years of service

Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg got a standing ovation -- and his own day -- in honor of his 35 years of service.

Kennewick Mayor Steve Young surprised Hohenberg with a proclamation designating Wednesday"Ken Hohenberg Day" at Tuesday's Kennewick City Council meeting.

Hohenberg admitted to being suspicious, especially when he noticed family members and employees in the audience.

"I'm not ready to retire yet either," he said. "This is not a retirement thing. I'm not leaving. I love my job."

Young noted not only Hohenberg's service starting as a Kennewick police officer in 1978 and beginning his police chief tenure in 2003, but also his "extensive" volunteerism.

"Ken makes up the foundation of this city in that he's the overseer of public safety," Young told the Herald. "But he is also integral to the near-term and long-term planning of this city. He's honest, he's always a thinker and he is a visionary."

A few highlights of Hohenberg's service include:

-- Encouraging Kennewick police to be community orientated by setting an example, from jumping into the Columbia River for the Polar Plunge, helping raise $100,000 for Special Olympics Washington this year, to waiting tables for Tip-A-Cop.

-- Making Kennewick police the first Tri-City area agency to partner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to form a violent crimes task force.

-- Starting the department's participation in the National Missing Children's Day "Take 25" initiative, where parents are encouraged to get photo identification for their children.

-- Becoming the police department's first Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, officer and receiving the Drug Enforcement Administration's DARE Law Enforcement Executive of the Year Award in 2010.

-- Ushering in a state-of-the-art police station in 2008, which also provides space for the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force, Child Protective Services, Domestic Violence advocates and Department of Corrections employees.

Hohenberg said the accomplishments assigned to him took a lot of support from others to accomplish.

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

This story was originally published July 16, 2013 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kennewick police chief gets day in honor of years of service ."