New Wenatchee Area State Patrol Captain Daniel Richmond
The Washington State Patrol installed Trooper Daniel Richmond as Captain in District 6 in early March.
Richmond is a 2nd generation State Trooper literally growing up in a law enforcement household watching his father put on the crisp, blue WSP uniform and straight-brimmed hat for 25 years in District 6. Captain Daniel Richmond is the son of Trooper Davis Richmond who retired in 2010
"It didn't take much work to get me heading this direction. I got a chance to watch what my dad did as I was growing up and I knew pretty early on as a young man that that was the capacity I wanted to serve in as well. I always wanted to do it. Absolutely." Richmond says.
He was named Captain of the expansive District 6 region of the WSP on March 2nd, 2023.
The District 6 of WSP covers the Wenatchee area, Chelan, Douglas, Okanagan, Grant, Kittitas and a portion of southern Adams County. "We have a very large amount of road miles to cover and we have the Troopers we need to successfully cover it but we're we are significantly below where our allotted staffing (level) is" according to Richmond.
Detachments are located in Ellensburg, Moses Lake, Okanogan, and Wenatchee. District 6 services 1,537 miles of interstate and state routes and assists with an additional 7,058 miles of county roads, when needed.
He says that impacts getting a number of troopers together to work emphasis patrols but the specialized enforcement is being conducted. Richmond says he currently has 46 troopers and the detachment is allotted 59 slots.
The WSP staffing shortage has had a more acute impact in Wenatchee on the communication dispatch center which closed over staffing shortages. Richmond says Troopers in District Six are currently dispatched out of three different WSP communication centers. The northern regions, Chelan, Douglas and Okanagan county is covered by the Marysville communication center. Kittitas County and Ellensburg is dispatched out of Yakima, and the Spokane center covers the Columbia Basin and Moses Lake area.
For information on a career with the WSP
Richmond says despite short staffing in District 6 there will be emphasis patrols out focusing on DUI over the holiday weekends. "That's one of our leading causes of serious traffic collisions in the area so we will definitely be putting extra units out in the Wenatchee area to look for that." .
There's a statewide campaign starting May 5th called Arrive Alive, a 24 hour statewide emphasis that will include the District 6 detachment.
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