Ridgefield residents gathered Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Davis Park to welcome the city's newest police chief, with community members, local law enforcement leaders and Ridgefield Police Department officers joining Chief Jim Quackenbush for an evening focused on connection and community.
The Meet the Chief event included a swearing-in ceremony, free hot dogs and chips served by the Ridgefield Lions Club, yard games and activities for children. The event also gave residents an opportunity to meet Quackenbush and interact with members of the Ridgefield Police Department in a casual setting.
The event came after Ridgefield's National Night Out celebration was canceled, creating an opportunity for the department to reconnect with residents and introduce its new chief.
Quackenbush brings more than two decades of law enforcement experience to Ridgefield. He began his career with the Portland Police Bureau in January 1999 as a 23-year-old and spent 22 years with the agency, eventually advancing through its command ranks. He then spent about four years with the Boise Police Department in Idaho, where he served as a lieutenant and captain, before returning to the Pacific Northwest as a captain in Washougal.
Quackenbush said his return to the region was motivated in part by family ties and his connection to the Pacific Northwest.
“My family's all here, and this is home for me,” Quackenbush said.
Although becoming a police chief was not originally part of his career plans, Quackenbush said the unpredictable nature of law enforcement ultimately led him to the position.
“I had no intentions of ever being a police chief, but I've done a lot of different things in my career,” he said. “And the cool thing about police work is it's just an adventure and a lot of different things can get thrown your way. And it's a challenge, but it's also exciting to sort of adapt and learn as you go along.”
One of Quackenbush's primary goals in Ridgefield will be maintaining the department's relationship with residents as the city continues to grow.
“Hopefully, I will be able to help bring some direction in terms of managing growth, because I know that's the big topic here,” he said.
Quackenbush said his experience in Boise provided him with an example of how a rapidly growing community can maintain strong relationships between police officers and residents.
In Boise, he said officers continued responding to calls throughout the community and emphasized a traditional community-policing approach, even as the department grew to over 300 sworn officers.
“It was very sort of, for lack of a better term, old fashioned in that approach that just old community policing, like everybody knew each other,” Quackenbush said.
He said officers taking time to listen to residents and help them solve problems was an important part of building community support.
“Surveys really demonstrated in the community that was really tied to the support that they experienced because the officers really slowed down,” Quackenbush said. “They took their time with people and they helped them solve problems.”
Quackenbush said maintaining those relationships becomes more challenging as cities grow and officers become increasingly focused on responding to calls.
“Very little of what police officers do is actually bona fide crime fighting in the traditional sense,” he said. “It's just a lot of problem solving for the most part.”
The new chief also acknowledged the strong foundation left by his predecessor, Chief Cathy Doriot, who spent her career with the Ridgefield Police Department and has deep roots in the community.
“To have that kind of connection, be able to sustain that through the growth, I think I have some good ideas on how to manage that,” Quackenbush said. “Make sure that we don't lose that because that's more critical than ever.”
For Quackenbush, building those relationships will extend beyond the police department and into the broader community. He said he plans to spend time riding with Ridgefield officers, attending community events and getting to know residents personally.
“I'm looking forward to being able to just develop relationships with a lot of different people,” Quackenbush said.
“I'm a big believer in relationships. I think that's key to public safety,” he added. “And so just being able to get to know people on a personal level. I'm just, I'm really going to enjoy that.”
