Redmond Police Chief Dave Tarbet announced he planned to retire at the end of the year, and the hunt for a new police chief was on.
After the city of Redmond launched a national search for its next chief, it may have found their guy in Capt. Devin Lewis.
“There is going to be no surprises in terms of what people are going to see from him and what his expectations are for effort and output and the real positive energy and strong energy that he is going to bring to the department,” said Redmond City Manager Keith Witcosky.
The city held a virtual public reception for Lewis on Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m just looking to kind of grow and expand all the great things we’ve already done the prior couple years I have been here,” said Redmond Police Capt. Devin Lewis. “We have made a lot of good progress with a lot of different programs and I just want to build on that progress.”
Lewis isn’t a stranger to the High Desert.
He was named captain on the Redmond Police Department in 2019 and has over 22 years of experience in Central Oregon law enforcement.
“He is someone that people want to work for and people want to work with, whether it is the school district or the DA’s office or people in the community,” Witcosky said. “It is important to have somebody that has integrity, and honesty and puts in a lot of effort. Kind of following the footsteps of Chief Tarbet and Devin just fits that to the T.”
Current Chief Dave Tarbet announced he plans to retire on Dec. 31st
“I think the biggest thing as police chief is, you are the face of the organization, you are the face of the agency,” Lewis said. “So, making sure that you’ve put out in the community, that positive example, that positive role model, not only for the department, but for the people that work with you in the department.”
Lewis is the only one in the running.
If hired, his start date will be January 1.
“We know that we can trust him,” Witcosky said. “He is a good communicator, he understands what the position entails and we know he is gong to do an excellent job. So. we are really excited to have him as a finalist.”
Lewis says, one of his main goals as chief would be relocating to the new public safety facility, which is currently under consideration.
