A Pierce County city is losing its police chief. Here are the candidates to replace him

Liz Moomey
·3 min read

Lakewood residents can meet the six finalists vying to replace retiring police chief Mike Zaro at an open house Thursday.

The public is invited to Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St. SW, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The finalists are Port Orchard chief of police Matt Brown, Illinois State Police first deputy director Matthew Davis, former Miami Police Department deputy police Heather Morris, former Bluffton, South Carolina chief of police Stephenie Price, former Birmingham, Ala. chief of police Patrick Smith and Lakewood assistant chief of police John Unfred, the city announced Monday.

Zaro is set to retire Feb. 17.

He was appointed interim chief in April 2015 following the retirement of Bret Farrar. Zaro served in the interim position until October 2015 when he was named chief. Zaro had been assistant police chief since 2008 and joined the Lakewood PD when it formed in 2004. He previously worked for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department since 1994.

The Lakewood police chief oversees 111 full-time employees. Currently, there are 96 commissioned officers in the department.

The finalists will meet with stakeholders this week for informational interviews. Lakewood residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the candidates. Following the interview process, the city could announce its next chief by the end of the year, according to a news release.

The backgrounds of the finalists are:

  • Brown is a 22-year law enforcement veteran. He was one of the original members of the Lakewood Police Department where he served as a sergeant, vice, narcotics, property crimes, patrol, court security and SWAT. He worked as the chief criminal deputy for the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office and the deputy chief for the Poulsbo Police Department before his Port Orchard chief of police appointment.

  • Davis has worked as a Illinois State Police officer for more than 24 years. He serves as the appointed first deputy director of ISP, the highest-ranking sworn officer accountable for the agency’s operations. Davis started his career as a state trooper and was promoted to master sergeant and later lieutenant and then captain. He was later appointed to lieutenant colonel of the Division of Forensic Services.

  • Morris served with the Houston Police Department for 22 years as patrol, field training, DWI task force, criminal investigations and internal affairs investigations. She was promoted to assistant chief of the Criminal Investigations Command in 2020. She also served as the deputy chief of the Miami Police Department in 2021.

  • Price is a law enforcement executive with more than 23 years of experience. She was appointed the chief of police in Bluffton, South Carolina in 2020. She was previously an assistant chief in Savannah, Georgia. She also worked for the Kansas City Police Department for nearly 20 years, where she rose to the rank of captain.

  • Smith started his 32-year law enforcement career with the Los Angeles Police Department. He was promoted to captain at the Hollenbeck Division and Metropolitan Division. Smith was appointed chief of police for Birmingham, Alabama in 2018. Smith also served seven years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

  • Unfred has been the assistant chief of police for Lakewood PD since 2015. He joined the department when it was formed. He was a detective in the Special Operations Unit. Unfred served in the U.S. Army for nearly six years.

The City of Lakewood used a national search firm to conduct the police chief search and hiring process, according to Brynn Grimley, the city’s communications manager.