Changing of the guard: Sultan police chief reassigned after short stint with big results

The city of Sultan welcomed a new leader in law enforcement last week, saying farewell to Lt. Monte Beaton, who has served as the chief of the Sultan Police Department and Commander of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office East Precinct for the past three years.

Beaton was reassigned to sheriff's office headquarters in Everett effective Sept. 1, to work in the Personnel Development Division overseeing employee recruitment, training and development. His position was filled by Lt. Steven McDonald, who has been in law enforcement for 20 years. Sultan city officials are sad to see Beaton go, especially Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick, who has worked closely with Beaton during his time with the city.

"While being a professional officer of the law, Monte has taken Sultan to heart, making us part of his family,GÇ¥ Eslick said.

Beaton replaced Undersheriff Rob Beidler, who left in 2013 to join Sheriff Ty Trenary's command staff. Prior to that, the father of six had spent 4 1/2 as the chief of police in Darrington.

As it turned out, Beaton had a previously established connection with one of Sultan's community leaders. He and Snohomish County Fire District 5 Chief Merlin Halverson had worked together in the 1990s in the city of Lynnwood, where Beaton was an officer with the Lynnwood Police Department and Halverson was a lieutenant with the Lynnwood Fire Department.-á -á

Halverson said that in the past and present, he has found Beaton to be a true public servant and leader.

"Monte is an interesting combination of military bearing, integrity, commitment to duty and sincere interest in the welfare of society,GÇ¥ Halverson said. "He is a great role model and dedicated public servant ' he was a great chief of police in our community.GÇ¥

The two worked together frequently during Beaton's time in Sultan, including weekly meetings with Eslick, to discuss public safety and other community matters.-á

After arriving in August 2013, Beaton made an impression right away. Rather than slowly easing himself into the position, he jumped in with both feet and started planning a 13-week citizens academy. The free academy took place from Feb. 6-May 1, 2014, and was highly lauded by its participants, who enjoyed the opportunity to get to know their law enforcement officers on a personal level.

Sixty residents enrolled in the series, which boasted between 52 and 58 regular attendees every week.

Beaton coordinated law enforcement officers from all over the county, who came and spoke to attendees about patrol procedures, traffic operations, K9 enforcement, major crime investigation, corrections, crime scene technology and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). The series was co-facilitated by Det. Danny Pitocco, who dazzled attendees with candid tales of his experiences during his 44 years in law enforcement.-á

Beaton's goal for the series was to break down barriers by giving the public an intimate look at what law enforcement officers are like as people. He wanted people to see that officers are, first and foremost, human beings. They have husbands, wives, kids and regular day-to-day problems.

"We pull our pants on the same as everyone else,GÇ¥ Beaton said. "We just have a different job.GÇ¥

The academy was considered a huge success by the sheriff's office and academy attendees.

"I think that really helped to send a message that the sheriff's office was here to serve them,GÇ¥ Beaton said.

Beaton's teenage daughter, Emily, was a regular attendee, providing participants with freshly baked treats every week. Beaton and Emily were honored for their efforts during the 2015 Snohomish County Sheriff's Office awards ceremony; Beaton with a Certificate of Merit and Emily with a Letter of Commendation. Since that time, Beaton's citizens academy model has been mirrored to provide similar instruction in other parts of the county.

After the academy was over, Beaton immersed himself in addressing Sultan's homeless problem. Many transient individuals had settled south of U.S. 2 in the area known as Steelhead County Park, and the scenic riverside area had become overrun with human waste, garbage and other refuse. He partnered with Sultan city staff and volunteers with the Sultan Community Alliance, bringing in multiple Snohomish County agencies to conduct a massive cleanup.

He worked with Sultan Volunteers of America Western Washington Director Calei Vaughn, who offered services to those that were living there whenever possible.-á

In July 2014, the county showed up with an excavator, backhoe and a dump truck, hauling out more than 12 tons of garbage from the park. Beaton continued to work with the alliance after the job was complete, tackling other city-owned parks where the homeless had taken up residence.

His office went to work on known drug houses next. Officers worked within the system to evict squatters that had moved into vacant, bank-owned homes. It's illegal to move into a foreclosed home and just live there, Beaton said, but the eviction process is complex. Additionally, there were situations where absentee property owners were completely unaware that their rental units had become nuisance properties due to illegal drug dealing and other criminal activities.

In one case, they partnered with the Seattle Police Department to make contact with a property owner, to inform him of what was occurring on his property and encourage him to take action. The process seemed slow to those that were negatively impacted, but the strategy was ultimately effective.-á -á

"There's five or six fewer drug houses in Sultan than there was three years ago,GÇ¥ Beaton said.

As a result of cleaning up homeless areas, offering and providing services and eliminating known nuisance drug properties, crime rates have dropped, Beaton said.

"Crime is lower, and it's lower than it's been in a long time,GÇ¥ he said.

He's been able to concentrate on public safety at its most basic level, including traffic safety and transportation enhancements, such as newly painted cross walks and stop lines in school zones. He worked closely with Halverson on Sultan's emergency siren system, established to warn residents of the need to evacuate in the event of an emergency.

They held yearly evacuation drills at the schools, so kids would know what to do if there was ever an earthquake strong enough to cause a breach at Spada Lake.-á

He's also worked to improve safety at the precinct, recently facilitating the installation of a high-definition security system surrounding the office.-á

"There's eight cameras all the way around the building, keeping an eye on things,GÇ¥ Beaton said.

Beaton has been an integral part of the community, regularly attending Sultan City Council meetings, Sultan's Coffee with the Mayor, monthly city leadership meetings, Block Watch and more. He said he's going to miss Sultan's unyielding esprit de corps, which is something he hasn't experienced in other communities in his 25 years in law enforcement.

"I've never seen volunteerism like there is here in Sultan. It just doesn't exist any place else,GÇ¥ Beaton said. "It's pretty unique.GÇ¥