YAKIMA, Wash. -- It remains unclear whether Yakima police and federal drug agents will resume their former partnership, despite a news release the agencies sent out Tuesday to emphasize their "positive relationship."

A year-old, semi-public rift between the Yakima Police Department and the Yakima office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration -- which spawned investigations after Yakima police made unspecified allegations against the DEA -- is essentially over, according to the press release.

"Now that the allegations and other issues have been laid to rest, we are certainly ready to move on and work toward reinforcing the relationship between the YPD and the DEA," Arnold Moorin, the DEA special agent in charge in Seattle, said in the news release.

But the release did not say when or how the agencies would rejoin under the same roof. Nor did it explain the earlier allegations of misconduct against the DEA made by Yakima police Chief Sam Granato.

Officials from neither agency responded to media questions Tuesday.

The contacts listed on the new release, Moorin and Granato, were both unavailable for comment. Granato and Deputy Chief Kelly Rosenow were out of the office all day attending a police academy graduation in Seattle. Moorin will be unavailable all week because something else came up, according to Seattle DEA spokeswoman Jodie Underwood.

However, Yakima City Manager Dick Zais said there's reason to hope the two agencies will team up again in some form similar to their former partnership.

"I believe it is going to occur over time," he said. "There has not been a specific date set."

Zais said he believes both agencies are ready to start fresh and could share work space again as soon as July.
By then the Yakima DEA office will have a new agent
in charge, he said.

Different Yakima police officers will be assigned to the office, too, he said.

Asked whether the personnel changes in the agencies were coincidental or part of mending the relationship, Zais said it was a bit of both.

The DEA has had agents in Yakima for more than 20 years and began sharing office space with the City-County Narcotics Unit in 2004. The CCNU, a partnership between the Yakima Police Department and Yakima County Sheriff's Office, was formed in 1965. Both units were formed to combat the trafficking that had earned Yakima a reputation as a distribution hub for drugs from as far away as Mexico.

Strife between the Yakima police and the DEA became public last fall, months after tension first surfaced and weeks after Granato pulled four officers from the shared office. One of the officers worked directly under DEA supervision; the others were part of CCNU.

At the time, Granato cited concerns about communication between the agencies and dissatisfaction with DEA supervision. He also was unhappy with the return the city was getting for drug-related property seizures.

The DEA meanwhile chose not to renew a contract for the Yakima officer under its direct supervision, while leaving open the possibility it would accept a different officer.

The Tuesday news release referred to Granato's concerns about "alleged misconduct by the DEA."

"An investigation conducted by the DEA found no evidence of misconduct," the release said. "City officials reviewed the DEA investigation and were satisfied with its results. The DEA investigation, a separate investigation conducted by the YPD, and discussions between city officials and the DEA have also helped to resolve other issues."

The Yakima Herald-Republic requested city records related to the matter last week and are awaiting a decision on what city officials will release. A city response is expected by Friday.

It remains unclear what role the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, which had one deputy in the now-defunct City-County Narcotics Unit, will play. Sheriff Ken Irwin effectively disbanded the CCNU when he moved that deputy from CCNU to the DEA drug task force.

Irwin did not return a call seeking comment for this story.