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Chief of Police
The 1869 City Charter established the Marshall as the City's peace officer. The Marshall was elected by the voters for a one year term.
| 1869 | John T. Jordan | |
| 1870-1872 | L. V. Wyckoff | |
| 1873 | F. A. Minick | |
| 1874 | D. H. Webster | |
| 1875 | L. V. Wyckoff | Also served as Assessor. |
| 1876 | R. H. Turnbull | |
| 1877 | E. A. Thorndyke | |
| 1878 | F. A. Minick | |
| 1879 | E. A. Thorndyke | |
| 1880-1881 | J. H. McGraw | Also served as Fire Warden. Resigned in 1881 when elected King County Sheriff. |
| 1882-1883 | J. H. Woolery |
An 1883 City Charter Amendment abolished the position of Marshall and created the new position of Chief of Police. The Chief was elected by the voters of the City for a one-year term.
| 1884-1886 | J. H. Woolery | Woolery was dismissed by the Mayor on June 15, 1885, but was reelected on July 27. |
| 1886-1887 | William M. Murphy | |
| 1888-1889 | J. C. Mitchell | Mitchell was removed from office on April 12, 1889. |
| 1889 | O. D. Butterfield | |
| 1890 | George C. Monroe |
The Freeholders City Charter of 1890 created a five-member Board of Police Commissioners to oversee the operations of the Police Department. The Commission, chaired by the Mayor, had authority to appoint the Chief of Police.
| 1891-1892 | Bolton Rogers | |
| 1893 | Andrew Jackson | Resigned during the year. |
| 1893-1894 | D. F. Willard | |
| 1895-1896 | Bolton Rogers |
The Freeholders City Charter of 1896 abolished the Board of Police Commissioners and gave the Mayor the authority to appoint and remove the Police Chief.
| 1897-1900 | C. S. Reed | |
| 1901 | William Meredith | |
| 1901-1903 | John Sullivan | |
| 1904-1905 | Thomas R. Delaney | |
| 1906-1907 | Charles W. Wappenstein | |
| 1908-1909 | Irving Ward | |
| 1910 | Charles W. Wappenstein | |
| 1911-1913 | C. G. Bannick | |
| 1914 | Austin E. Griffiths | |
| 1915-1916 | Louis E. Lang | |
| 1916-1917 | C. F. Beckingham | |
| 1918-1919 | J. F. Warren | |
| 1920-6/1922 | W. H. Searing | |
| 6/1922-6/1926 | W. B. Severyns | On June 23, 1924, acting Mayor Bertha Landes took control of the Police Department and removed Severyns and named Captain Bannick as acting chief. When Mayor Edwin Brown returned to town seven days later, he immediately reinstated Severyns. |
| 6/1926-6/1928 | W. H. Searing | |
| 6/1928-7/1931 | Louis J. Forbes | |
| 7/1931-5/1932 | William B. Kent | Kent was appointed by Mayor Harlin when the latter took office following Mayor Edwards' recall. Kent retired less than a year later. |
| 5/1932-6/1932 | G. H. Comstock | Comstock was appointed acting Police Chief by Mayor Harlin. |
| 6/1932-6/1934 | L. L. Norton | |
| 6/1934-7/1934 | George F. Howard | Howard resigned following a disagreement with Mayor Smith over the handling of the longshoremen's strike. |
| 7/1934-12/1934 | George H. Comstock | Comstock was dismissed by Mayor Smith after he resisted the Mayor's attempt to force retirement of older officers. |
| 12/1934-1/1935 | Mayor Charles Smith | The Mayor assumed control of the Police Department with Walter B. Kirtley serving as inspector. |
| 1/1935-4/1936 | Walter B. Kirtley | Kirtley was acting chief from January 17 to February 20. He was subsequently appointed Chief. |
A City Charter Amendment in 1936 provided for the Chief of Police to be appointed for a five year term of office.
| 4/1936-5/1941 | William H. Sears | |
| 5/1941-6/1941 | William H. Sears | Reappointed for a five-year term, but failed to be confirmed by Council on a 4-5 vote, June 12, 1941. |
| 6/1941 | Walter B. Kirtley | Mayor Millikin appointed Kirtley. When Millikin left town, acting Mayor Levine withdrew the appointment before confirmation and appointed Harlan Callahan. |
| 7/1941 | Harlan S. Callahan | Millikin, upon return to the City, withdrew Callahan's name and appointed Kinsey who was confirmed unanimously. |
| 7/1941-4/1946 | Herbert D. Kinsey |
A new Freeholders City Charter was adopted March 12, 1946. Under its provisions, the term of the Chief of Police was not specified.
| 8/1946-4/1952 | George D. Eastman | |
| 4/1952-9/1952 | Frank Ramon | Served as acting police chief. Ramon resigned Sept. 25, 1952. |
| 9/1952-1/1953 | H. James Lawrence | Lawrence was appointed acting chief, serving until he was appointed and confirmed as chief. |
| 2/1953-1/1961 | H. James Lawrence | |
| 1/1961-11/1969 | Frank Ramon | Retired in Nov. 1969. |
| 11/1969-7/1970 | W. F. Moore | Moore was acting chief until Gain was appointed acting chief. |
| 7/1970-8/1970 | C. R. Gain | |
| 8/1970-9/1970 | Edward Toothman | Toothman was appointed interim chief until a permanent appointment was made. |
| 9/1970-3/1974 | George Tielsch | Resigned March 15, 1974. |
| 3/1974-3/1978 | Robert Hanson | Served as interim chief until his permanent appointment. Hanson resigned March 29, 1978. |
| 3/1978-2/1979 | H. A. Vanden Wyer | |
| 2/1979-2/1994 | Patrick Fitzsimons | |
| 2/1994-2/2000 | Norman Stamper | |
| 2/2000-7/2000 | Herb Johnson | Served as acting chief. |
| 7/2000-3/2009 | Gil Kerlikowske | Left to become the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. |
| 3/2009- | John Diaz | Interim chief. |
This list is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Due to the high incidence of firings and resignations, it is possible that some dates are imprecise.