YPD reports results from interdiction on highways

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima police say they'll consider continuing a program that had city officers patrol state highways across Yakima County.

During a monthlong pilot project in September, a pair of Yakima police officers made 21 drug arrests and stopped more than 200 cars for speeding and other violations, according to statistics released by the department.

They were involved in seizing about $2,800 in cash, about nine pounds of methamphetamine, a pound of cocaine, a third of a pound of marijuana, and a smaller quantity of heroin. Two pistols and three vehicles were also taken.

Agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration or Immigrations and Customs Enforcement were on patrol with the officers almost every day they worked, Yakima deputy police chief Kelly Rosenow said.

There was, however, less coordination with the county Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Ken Irwin said he only learned of the program after reading about it in the Yakima Herald-Republic.

While the pilot program was in operation, two Yakima police officers, both partnered with drug dogs, were reassigned from their regular patrol duties. They had both received training in what's called criminal interdiction -- primarily traffic stops intended to look more for drug trafficking than bad driving.

For example, the officers learn how to watch for suspicious behavior and vehicle modifications that are signs of smuggling.

The dogs were deployed two dozen times, about three times as often as they would be during routine patrols in the city, according to the department's report on the project.

In one highlighted case, a dog detected a suitcase containing three pounds of meth in a vehicle. A subsequent search warrant at a house found another six pounds of meth.

The program focused on state highways and Interstate 82. Officers patrolled outside the Yakima Training Center and around Toppenish and Mabton.

Although the program raised eyebrows among some who saw the officers well outside their primary jurisdiction, police officials said they wanted to target crime before offenders reached the city.

"I think we need to use every tool available to us. We know Yakima has drug trafficking that comes into Yakima, into this whole region," Rosenow said.

Rosenow said the department will explore continuing during peak periods in the region's marijuana-growing season.

State law appears to require permission from the sheriff for such an operation, but Rosenow said the department is allowed to conduct the patrols because of an agreement that Chief Sam Granato and Irwin signed in 2003.

Without offering a formal opinions, both assistant city attorney Cynthia Martinez and county Prosecutor Jim Hagarty said that the joint agreement or related case law appear to allow Yakima officers to operate independently in the county.

According to a copy of that agreement, which is titled as a mutual aid pact, Irwin granted Yakima officers full powers within the county.

Irwin said he expressed his opposition to the interdiction program to Granato once he read about it in the Herald-Republic, when the patrols were already under way. He said his staff had not been advised of the patrols beforehand.

Referring to the interagency agreement, "The spirit of the document has never been to grant another agency the permission to conduct unilateral enforcement activity in our jurisdiction," he said in an e-mail response to the Herald-Republic.

Rosenow said department officials had intended to advise the sheriff's office before the program started.

"We just had a miscommunication with him, I guess," Rosenow said.

Before the city produced a copy of the 2003 agreement, Irwin said he would consider a proposal from the city to operate the patrols, but only if deputies were jointly involved. That would address communication and coordination problems that could arise if the officers were working alone.

While stressing that the police department and the sheriff's office cooperate on a daily basis, Irwin pointed out that both agencies have expressed concerns about staffing shortages.

"If they don't have enough targets within the city, then fine, we could use their extra help out in the county," he said.

* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.