Mayor reaffirms Tumwater’s commitment to SRO program after reassignment of officer

Tumwater Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff reaffirmed the city’s commitment to its School Resource Officer Program (SRO) following the reassignment of a longtime officer. 

Dahlhoff addressed the issue during the Tuesday, March 3, city council meeting, after two individuals questioned the reassignment of officer Tyler Boling, who was stationed at Tumwater High School and Bush Middle School.  

Tumwater High School announced in a social media post on Feb. 19 that Boling was being called back into the field after serving as the school’s resource officer for eight years.

Tumwater Police Department acting Chief Carlos Quiles later explained that Boling was reassigned to maintain the police department’s minimum patrol staffing levels. 

During the public comment portion of the council meeting, former Mayor Debbie Sullivan expressed frustration with the move.

“The city needs to be much more transparent on things that impact the students and our community,” Sullivan said. 

The former mayor noted the city had recently signed a new agreement with the Tumwater School District for the School Resource Officer Program, and the officer was reassigned less than 70 days after the agreement took effect.

She described the situation as “disheartening,” noting the police department’s staffing issues were already known when the contract was signed. 

“I think that there just needs to be more planning. We had a very long strategic plan. The police department put that into place, and so we know what the staffing levels should be," Sullivan said.

Dahlhoff acknowledged Sullivan's concerns about transparency and said the change was temporary. 

“We are committed to the SRO program,” Dahlhoff said. “We are not removing SROs. It's temporary.” 

She added the city is working with the school district to address the situation, and a meeting with the school district is being planned for April. 

City Administrator Paul Simmons added the city has been working to keep the public informed while addressing the department’s staffing challenges. 

“Our top priority is to restore it as soon as possible, and we will be moving in that direction once we have the resources to be also to do so,“ Simmons said. 

Last option

On the police chief’s web page, Quiles said about  30 percent of the department’s sworn officer positions are currently unavailable because of vacancies, training requirements and officers assigned to limited duty due to medical conditions. 

Quiles said Boling’s reassignment was made after considering all other options. 

“This decision followed the reassignment of all other specialty positions within the department and was made only after careful consideration of available alternatives,” Quiles stated. “It was, quite simply, the last available option to preserve essential patrol staffing,”  

With Boling reassigned to patrol duty, Officer Seth Stauffer is now the program’s only remaining school resource officer.

In addition to his assignments at Black Hills High School and Tumwater Middle School, he is now also covering Tumwater High School and Bush Middle School, according to the acting police chief’s statement.