STARS IN THE SKY VALLEY: Monroe officer enjoys providing community services

By Valeria Rae

Meet LaDonna Whalen, the Monroe Police Department's community service officer. Although Whalen is highly visible throughout Monroe, few are aware of the scope of her responsibilities or the passion and compassion she brings to her job.

Whalen did not begin her career in law enforcement. She was a mom who traveled with her family to Costa Rica, where she attended Spanish language school for four months. They then spent a year in Chile, where she had her son.

Upon returning to the States and settling in Monroe, Whalen decided that once her children were in middle school, she would seek employment to support their college education.

She applied for the position of code enforcement officer with Monroe in 2001 and was very surprised to land the job. The department needed someone who could speak Spanish. They trained her in what she calls "low threat/low priorityGÇ¥ police work.

Whalen now has a variety of roles as the community service officer. She is frequently called upon to act as an interpreter. Once an accident, crime or incident site has been secured, she provides translation for both the people involved and her fellow officers.

Her language skills also come in handy in her role as enforcer of Monroe's municipal codes. Whalen is responsible for monitoring parking, and responds to nuisance code violations such as abandoned vehicles, trespassing, littering and noise.

As animal control officer, she attends to roaming animals and assists residents in finding lost pets. She once rescued two pigmy goats that were wandering down Chain Lake Road. Whalen either takes the animals to a local kennel to be held while the owners are located or to Homeward Pets in Woodinville, which finds new homes for them. The last resort is the Everett Animal Shelter for animals who appear to be sick or dangerous. Whalen once united a dog that had an ID chip with its grateful owner. The beloved pet had been stolen 6 years prior.

When asked what hats she likes best, Whalen cites her work in community outreach and crime prevention. In these roles, she is a certified car seat inspector, organizes and helps maintain Block Watch groups and coordinates the police department's involvement in National Night Out Against Crime. For this event she secures the booths and materials and arranges the schedule for the participants.

Whalen's favorite outreach activity is to organize and assist in facilitating the Monroe Citizen's Academy. This is an 11-week course consisting of several evening classes and a couple weekend tours that is free to the public. The goal of the program is to increase local awareness and understanding of the tasks and mission of law enforcement.

Participants receive information directly from the officers in the areas of their expertise, such as the K-9 force, investigation, traffic and violent crime. The class members are given hands-on experience with weapons at the firing range, the opportunity to ride along with an officer while on patrol, are invited to tour the Twin Rivers prison facility and get to demonstrate their skill driving a patrol car on a defined course.

Whalen establishes the agenda for the academy, arranges for the speakers and tours, prepares handouts and is also a presenter. She feels this program is extremely valuable in that it allows the community to have contact with law enforcement personnel in a less formal setting, educates the public on police procedures and develops relationships and community advocates.

When asked to share her greatest challenge, Whalen describes the need to walk the fine line between compassion and enforcement, which applies to both the victim and the perpetrator, the vagrant and the landowner, the nuisance dog and its owner. Homelessness is not a crime, she said, but trespassing and littering are.

She also cites her frustration when resources are not available. Whalen keeps abreast of city and county resources, and offers contact numbers and even assistance in accessing help for victims, but sometimes she doesn't feel she can do enough. Whalen has a special passion for the Spanish-speaking community whom she encourages to seek assistance and to not be afraid to contact police.

Whalen would like the community to know the Monroe Police Department does a lot more than respond to 911 calls. Free to anyone who requests it are car seat safety inspections, home evaluations for security and crime prevention and speakers who will present at schools and functions on topics such as stranger danger and personal safety.