Stanwood Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig will be Bellingham’s new chief of police, Mayor Seth Fleetwood announced Tuesday.
Mertzig, who serves as the Stanwood chief by contract with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, was one of three semifinalists introduced in a public forum last month. She’ll start her job in Bellingham on June 1.
“She comes to us with exceptional qualifications and experience,” Fleetwood said in a release. “She has been a rising star in the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, exceeding expectations and excelling in leadership positions. I am impressed with her experience, integrity and enthusiasm to lead the Bellingham Police Department.”
Mertzig, who holds the rank of lieutenant with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, has 18 years of law enforcement experience. She has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Washington University.
“It is an honor to be selected as your new Chief,” Mertzig said in the city release. “I look forward to continuing the high standard of service provided by the dedicated and professional team at the Bellingham Police Department and I am excited for the opportunity to enhance public safety in my own community.”
Mertzig has lived in and raised a family in Bellingham for 30 years.
Fleetwood said Mertzig will be formally introduced to the department and community upon completion of a standard background evaluation. Her initial annual salary will be $196,884.
She replaces interim Chief Flo Simon, who has announced her retirement effective June 1.
The Bellingham Police Department, which currently has 193 budgeted full-time positions, has been under intense city scrutiny in recent months in the face of sharply increasing city crime rates.
Department officials have acknowledged significant reductions in investigations, street patrols and other police services due to what the department calls vexing staffing shortages, exacerbated by a wave of retirements. Earlier this year, the department was 34 officers short due to vacancies, leaves and training.
Mertzig addressed those concerns at an online forum in March, emphasizing the need to increase staff levels to combat growing crime.
“You can’t have a solution without the bodies to respond and react to the calls for service,” Mertzig said in March. “Having police officers on the street is going to prevent crime as well.”
She and other finalists at the forum also agreed that systemic racism has been and continues to be a problem in police departments. Former Bellingham Chief David Doll retired less than a year after police killings of unarmed Black people sparked nationwide protests calling for major police reforms.
“We definitely need to start by recognizing and understanding our history in policing and how that affects today the BIPOC community,” Mertzig said at the forum, using the common acronym for Black, Indigenous and people of color.
Mertzig added at the forum that she frequently experiences “microaggressions” as a woman in law enforcement.
“I’m a female in a very male-dominated profession, and that’s why these issues are very important to me,” she said.
In a city survey, 59 people who watched the March 17 forum had a favorite: Everett Deputy Chief John DeRousse, who previously worked as a Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputy. More than two-thirds of the respondents said DeRousse was “strong” in the areas of public safety, trust-building, racial equity and accountability.
The other two candidates, Mertzig and Commander Dennis Flynn of Commerce City, Colorado, who had 30 years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, were perceived as “adequate” in these areas by survey respondents.
Recruiting firm Prothman conducted preliminary interviews from a pool of 15 original applicants. The position was advertised with a salary range of $162,720 to $196,884, plus benefits.
Bellingham police have been led by interim Chief Simon since former Chief Doll’s retirement in January 2021. A police chief search conducted in spring 2021 yielded four finalists, including Bellingham Deputy Chief Don Almer, but Fleetwood chose not to name a new chief from that group.
“During this important time of transition in law enforcement, we need a leader that fits our vision for the future of the Bellingham Police Department,” Fleetwood said at the time.
Previous reporting by CDN Staff Reporter Ralph Schwartz contributed to this report.
