Tenino Police Chief Takes the Helm

Wednesday was the first day on the job for Tenino’s new chief of police, Don Moody, and the new boss is ready to get to work.

Moody, 53, was Mayor Wayne Fournier’s personal appointee to the position. He was unanimously confirmed by the city council during a meeting on March 31. On Tuesday night, he was officially sworn into duty, and by Wednesday he was answering phone calls at the police station.

“I’m extremely excited. I guess the long and short of the whole thing is that it was a long process,” said Moody. “The transition to Tenino from Yelm was a very stressful process because of my relationship with Yelm.”

Moody comes to Tenino on the heels of a 16-year career with the Yelm Police Department. During that time, he developed strong ties to the community through active, relationship-building police work, so leaving was a difficult decision to make for the new chief. That commitment and passion for the community he polices are precisely what made Moody an appealing candidate to Fournier though.

“His community building, that seems to be a big focus for him. That was kind of his MO in Yelm,” said Fournier. “And working with the schools. In Tenino, our biggest stakeholder is the school district. We’re kind of a city wrapped around a school. It doubles our population during school hours, so recognizing how important that is in our community is something I prioritized.”

Without prodding, Moody echoed the mayor’s commitment to building ties in the community through public realms like the school district.

“Getting out and working with the community and trying to help with areas that they believe need attention and working with the schools is really my priority,” explained Moody. “I think in today’s society, with so many families living in single-parent homes, it’s always nice to have somebody else to rely upon and help kids to find that good mentor. Someone that you can just go talk to and have them be that sounding board.”

Moody is originally from Texas and began his career in policing in 2000 as a reserve in Yelm. He moved to the area from Tacoma after he had wrapped up a stint in the U.S. Army. Moody has previously worked as a volunteer firefighter in Yelm, and his wife currently works for the county 911 dispatch center. 

“We’ve been pretty ingrained in the emergency services portion of the county for quite a few years now,” said Moody. 

Doubling down on that commitment, Moody said that he and his wife are currently trying to sell their home in Yelm so they can relocate to Tenino in order to “work and live with these folks. It’s really a beautiful place.” 

Moody added that moving to Tenino will allow him to integrate into the fabric of town more quickly while helping to show just how invested he is in the city. 

According to Moody, it’s all in a day’s work of community-based policing.

As of day one Fournier sounded plenty pleased with Tenino’s newest asset.

“We’re real excited and I’m really looking forward to the community meeting him,” said Fournier. “Once he’s had his feet on the ground I’m looking at assessing the position and we’ll plan a city hall type of meeting where the public can come in and ask him about who he is, where he’s from and what his ideas are for the Tenino Police Department.”

Moody knows all about the town hall plans and he has no qualms about meeting the people of Tenino in an open forum, mostly because he believes his message will play well with the townsfolk. 

“My whole motivation here is to help build Tenino back up,” said Moody.

Tenino had been without a police chief since the termination of former chief John Hutchings in March 2015. Hutchings was fired for working an excess of hours. Since his termination, he has filed a defamation lawsuit for $850,000. 

Russ Ellis was selected as an interim chief but lacked certification. 

His role at the department ended after he finished some administrative duties.