Kennewick police sergeant retires

Mark Weber, a now-retired Kennewick police sergeant, worked tirelessly to get to the end result of all and any occurrences he dealt with.

“He gets to the bottom,” said Ken Hohenberg, Kennewick police chief. “He gets to the truth.”

More than 70 people showed up Thursday in the city council chambers to honor Weber’s 25 years of service on the police force.

Awards included plaques of recognition, retirement credentials and retired flags that once flew above the Kennewick police station.

One gift was a small black teddy bear with a patched-in police badge and sergeant’s markings.

Former police chief Mark Harden hired Weber in 1993. Since then, Weber has been a member of the Tri-Cities Fraternal Order of Police and served as a coordinator for the Citizens Helping in Police Services, or CHIPS Kennewick.

CHIPS volunteers can range to nearly 10,000 a year, said Hohenberg.

“They do so many things within our organization,” Hohenberg said.

Marco Monteblanco, president of the Tri-Cities Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, presented Weber with the first-ever lifetime member award for his work with the organization.

“He was instrumental in getting the cops and kids program running,” Monteblanco said.

Hohenberg presented Weber with a retirement badge as the presentations came to a close.

“You’ve really helped define the Kennewick Police Department when it comes to people who’ve joined the agency,” Hohenberg said.

Weber said everyone he has worked with at the department and newcomers he’s helped train were “really at the top of their game.”

He’ll miss working with the people more than anything.

“You’ve all been a very important part of my life, and I’m going to miss you,” Weber said.

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Kennewick police sergeant retires."