New Faces Join Kettle Falls Police Department

The Kettle Falls Police Department (KFPD) has experienced personnel turnover over the last five years and has mainly operated short-staffed. With two recent hires, though, Police Chief Brandon Hoover looks forward to better serving the immediate community with a full team. Part of the reason for the turnover in the department was a shift in personnel, Hoover said. “People retire or move on to other jobs. People move on.

The effect on the department is that we’ve been short-handed for a while. Sometimes it’s just me and one other person. But the sheriff ’s office helps out so that we’re not left high and dry.” Hoover said he was with the Stevens County Sheriff ’s department for five years before he came to the KFPD. “I chose the KFPD because I’m from Kettle Falls. I graduated from Kettle Falls High School in 2007. It has always been my goal to stay in the Kettle Falls area.” Speaking to his duties as police chief with little officer support, Hoover said, “I pitch in and handle calls, work school zones, and traffic. I do the budgeting, review reports, and assign reports that need investigation. I am the only one that works the day shift right now. I am on call almost all the time. It can be stressful at times.” He added, “Brian [Heimbigner] started the same day I was promoted to chief, so I wasn’t left all by myself.”

He noted that Hunter McDaneld has also been with KFPD for two and a half years. Hoover has worked to get the department fully-staffed. “We’ve just hired on our third officer, Joe [McGuire]. I think that maybe we will leave the department the way it is after he starts. We hired an administrative assistant a couple of months ago, Jaya [Fowler], who has relieved a lot of the office duties. My mom just retired as the administrative assistant for 30 years before that. It was good actually working with my mom.”

Jaya Fowler

Jaya Fowler joined the team on May 1. This is her first administrative experience. “I have family in law enforcement, so I grew up in a community-oriented family where we helped people,” said Fowler. “I want to work with the officers and be in the community. My children are a little older now: 16, 14, and 11. I come from Chewelah; my husband is from Kettle Falls. I left working as a caregiver to come here.

I took a leap of faith and decided to make this my career move.” Discussing her day-to-day duties, Fowler said, “My responsibilities include answering phones, doing fingerprints, running background checks, filing reports, communicating with the officers, and handling non-emergent calls. High priority calls will be referred to 911.” She said calls from outside the Kettle Falls city limits will be referred to the appropriate place. Fowler said she thinks the new officers will make a positive impact on the community. “Looking at the current department, I think that it is beneficial to have a young group of officers. You can see us as a group of people who can grow the department and make a life of this. The department is a good group of guys, each with a strong suit that contributes to the team. I can tell they are all in it for the right reasons, for the community. They are good people.”

Joe McGuire

Joe McGuire is the newest officer on the KFPD and is scheduled to begin work on Sept. 21. He will need to attend the police academy before he can work as a police officer. The police academy lasts for approximately five-and-a-half months with weekends off, he said. “I’ll go to the first academy available,” McGuire said. “They are all full right now. My hope is to get in before the end of the year. There is one in Spokane, one in Pasco, and three on the coast. You used to be able to go to the police academy on your own, but now you have to be hired on with a department first.

KFPD will pay for the training.” McGuire is using his time outside of the academy to learn more about the role and community. “Until the academy, I will do ride-alongs and whatever Chief Hoover asks for. I’ll be learning how to write reports and things like that. I can’t really do that much. I was hired on because of my good life experiences and life skills. I was a supervisor and have good experience.

I spent a lot of time working in traffic control.” He added that he and his family are forming roots in Kettle Falls. “We bought our house in Kettle Falls. I have a wife and three children, and my mom lives in Colville. I decided to become a police officer as a career change. I feel like I was stagnant before. I worked in road maintenance. My father-in-law works in corrections, and I saw that working in law is secure and stable. I want to commit [to] this. We lived in southeast Idaho and came out this way on vacation three years ago. We really enjoyed it, fell in love with the topography, the lakes and scenery.” McGuire said he’s looking forward to being a part of a close team.

“I really like the tight knit group at KFPD. I get the chance to create bonds, and we will always have each other’s backs. I am really excited. I don’t show my emotions that much, but I am really excited. I’m looking forward to getting out into the community.” Hoover said, “Kettle Falls is a good community. We don’t get all the crazy calls. It is a good town. I think we have a really good department. We have a good council and a good mayor. The community likes and supports us.” KFPD is located at 415 Larch Street in Kettle Falls. Their phone number is 509-738-6700.