Winlock Police Department Hires Second Officer

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After Winlock City Council and the mayor refused to release a new hire’s name and position, the city recently confirmed in an email that it hired and swore in an officer to the Winlock Police Department.

Police Officer Curtis Flatray joined the city’s police force on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

“I’m excited to have Curt,” said Winlock Police Chief Stephen Valentine. “Curt is very personable, very outgoing. The community is going to love him. There are good cops and then there are really good cops and Curt is just (great at) community policing.” 

Flatray was previously an officer for the Nooksack Indian Tribe in Whatcom County with Valentine. 

“He reached out and said ‘hey would you be interested?’” Flatray said. “He kind of laid out the plan. So we talked about some things and made some arrangements and here I am. I’m really happy to be here. It’s been fun and exciting so far.”

Flatray said he had not previously been to Winlock before Valentine invited him to apply for the position.

“I like it a lot,” Flatray said. “It’s a nice, quaint little town and the people really seem to be really nice. I’ve been able to meet some of the other local law enforcement agencies and everybody has been really cool.”

Previously, Valentine would not comment on Winlock’s coverage, but told The Chronicle he was on call 24/7. Valentine said Winlock will now have an officer on duty seven days a week. 

Valentine will work four 10-hour days and be on call, while Flatray will work three 12-hour days. Valentine said if funding is available, he plans to hire a third officer sometime next year.

After Winlock City Council approved a new hire on Oct. 8 and refused to release the person’s name or position, Clerk Treasurer Tedi Curry wrote in an email Oct. 17 that the city hired Flatray, a week after he actually began work.

In response to The Chronicle’s records request dated Oct. 9 for “any and all information regarding the person Winlock City Council approved on Oct. 8 to hire — specifically, the person’s name, position, department and any information about applicants,” Curry wrote in an email that the city will release the records Nov. 9.

“The Mayor has officially hired an applicant,” wrote Curry on Oct. 16. “The records are being compiled. They will be redacted and then sent to the attorney for review. I am not sure when the attorney will be able to respond. I will send you the records once he has reviewed. I will make sure that you have them no later than November 9, 2018.”

Toby Nixon, who is the president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, told The Chronicle at the time that Winlock’s refusal to release information regarding the council’s vote was illegal, according to the coalition’s interpretation of current Washington state law.

“You can’t hire an anonymous person,” said Nixon at the time. “You can’t have anonymous motions by a governing body. The public has a right to know who the job is being offered to, especially if they vote on it in the city council.”