The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is temporarily providing law enforcement services to the Toledo area after the city's police chief left the position and a possible policing contract with the Napavine Police Department fell through last month.
“We are working on (acquiring) our own police chief,” Toledo Mayor Steve Dobosh told The Chronicle on Wednesday.
The City of Toledo intends to make an announcement regarding its police department sometime next week.
Former Toledo Police Chief Sam Patrick left his position on July 6.
The City of Toledo had already been talking with the Napavine Police Department about contracting for police services in Toledo, but Patrick’s departure accelerated that discussion, according to Napavine Police Chief John Brockmueller.
The police services contract was the sole item on the agenda for a July 27 meeting of the Toledo City Council, but the city council voted against approving the contract.
“They just chose not to do it for their own reasons,” Brockmueller said.
Brockmueller was chief of the Toledo Police Department for 15 years before he took over as Napavine’s police chief in October.
“I wish the best for Toledo,” he told The Chronicle on Thursday.
Short of a police chief, and with one of Toledo’s two police officers taking a job at the Napavine Police Department, the Toledo Police Department has not been operational since Aug. 1.
Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza said he found out about the situation with Toledo when his office was dispatched to a Toledo-area call on Monday.
“I don’t know what the fix is,” Snaza said of Toledo’s policing situation.
Until there's another solution, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office will continue responding to calls in the Toledo area, Snaza said.
“The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Napavine Police Department and Winlock Police Department are currently helping cover calls in Toledo,” reads a public notice posted on the City of Toledo’s website.
Anyone in need of a police officer should call 911, the notice reads, adding, “Do not call the police department business line or city hall to report a crime or suspicious activity.”
