LONGVIEW — After a 31-year career in law enforcement exclusively with the Kelso Police Department, Kelso Police Chief Darr Kirk is stepping down this month to lead Cowlitz 911.
Kirk, 55, is leaving his post Thursday and said he plans to spend the rest of his career at Cowlitz 911 Public Authority.
“I’ve always said I was going to work until 60 or 62, and I thought I was going to be here … (until) this opportunity presented itself,” Kirk said about leaving the force.
Kelso City Manager Andy Hamilton will be the interim chief until he picks Kirk’s successor. Hamilton was the city’s police chief for about a decade before retiring in 2019.
Capt. Rich Fletcher, who is also the department’s spokesperson, will temporarily be in charge of operations during the transition. Fletcher told The Daily News he expressed interest in becoming chief, but the position won’t be filled until later this year.
Previous 911 dispatch Director John Diamond retired in May after serving for about a year and helping to move the center from the Hall of Justice basement to its new Ocean Beach Highway location near Lowe’s.
Local crimes
Kirk joined Kelso police in 1993, serving varied positions from patrolman, to county narcotics task force member, to school resource officer, to police captain. He was appointed police chief in 2019 when Hamilton stepped down, but his passion for law and justice started much earlier.
“I just admired and respected law enforcement even when I was young,” Kirk said.
When he joined the force, many reported crimes were higher in the city than today.
According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs’ 1993 crime report, 30 rapes, 17 robberies and 45 aggravated assaults were reported in Kelso. Last year, 11 rapes, seven robberies and 15 aggravated assaults were reported in the city.
For Kirk, his most challenging moments at Kelso police included the 2019 killing of Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin DeRosier and subsequent search for his shooter, as well as the 2011 killing of Rainier, Ore., Police Chief Ralph Painter.
Longview Police Chief Robert Huhta recalled working with Kirk while searching for DeRosier’s suspected killer at a command post with each other.
“We worked all night, all day into the next evening, working shoulder to shoulder,” he said, adding that Kirk is “an outstanding law enforcement officer.”
The day after DeRosier was killed, his suspected shooter, Brian Butts, was fatally shot by police in Kalama after he fired at them.
Coincidentally, the suspect’s half-brother Daniel Butts had been sentenced months prior to a minimum of nearly 50 years in prison for Painter’s murder.
Legislation changes
Kirk said recent state laws, such as limiting when police can pursue suspects by vehicle, has made it harder for law enforcement to be proactive.
In 2021, state lawmakers passed legislation stating police could only pursue suspects in vehicles for certain crimes, such as a violent acts or a sex crimes, and only if there was probable cause, not suspicion. The law was rolled back this year.
One of the biggest changes was also the state Supreme Court’s 2021 decision that found the state’s simple drug possession law unconstitutional, overturning roughly 40 years of convictions.
A temporary fix downgraded drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor, and at the time, Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jurvakainen said there had been a decrease in drug cases since the decision, but a rise in property and violent drug-related crimes that involved more victims.
In 2023, lawmakers reclassified drug possession as a gross misdemeanor, with a 180-day jail stint and a $1,000 fine.
Kirk said such challenges have made it harder to recruit officers.
‘Second family’
Despite the difficulties, the connections he made on the force have been meaningful, Kirk said.
He said he will miss the Kelso police team, or what he calls his “second family,” the most.
“That’s for sure going to be the hardest part,” he said about leaving.
Kirk said the trust he built in the community and the team he served with has had the most impact on him personally.
He said he plans to bring the lessons he’s learned at the Kelso Police Department, and throughout his life, to Cowlitz 911.
Longview Police Department Sgt. Tim Watson called Kirk a “humble servant, regardless of rank or position.” Watson said he’s known Kirk for over 25 years, spanning his time as an officer, sergeant, captain and chief.
“Chief Kirk’s most notable quality has been his immutable high level of integrity,” Watson said.
