‘Small town hero’ — Fircrest holds surprise send-off for beloved, longtime police chief
Fircrest Police Chief John Cheesman ended his career Friday afternoon barely containing his tears. He listened to several minutes of other chiefs from around the region bid him congratulations and farewell over the police radio as his shift ended promptly at 4 p.m.
“Thank you, everyone, for the nice words and take care of yourselves,” he responded as his staff and family crowded into the department’s small office.
But the community he’s watched over for more than four decades — the last 24 years as chief — wasn’t quite ready to let him go.
Dozens of Fircrest residents lined Regents Blvd. to surprise the chief with waves and thank you signs as he left the police station Friday afternoon, driven home by Sgt. John Villamor.
Longtime Fircrest resident Gary Mims held a sign that read “Small town hero, Chief Cheesman.”
“He’s the most wonderful, caring person that anyone could have as a friend,” Mims said. “Everyone respects him. He is very humble. He’s very giving.”
Former Fircrest mayor and current council member Hunter George said the world would be a better place if every cop was like Cheesman.
“He has the authority and the strength that he needs, but he has this incredible depth of compassion and empathy,” George said. “He’ll take down a bad guy. But he also recognizes that not everyone’s bad, maybe you need help.”
In an interview with The News Tribune on Thursday, Cheesman gave credit to everyone but himself for the longevity of his career. He instead cited his police officers and staff at the small department, the residents of Fircrest, children he visits in school and even the occasional arrestee who thanks him for doing his job.
Fircrest boy
Cheeseman, 63, was raised in Fircrest by his teacher mother and ship building father. He graduated in 1978 from Wilson (now Silas) High School and received a degree in criminology from Western Washington University. One of his childhood friends was Don Ramsdell who went on to serve as the Tacoma Police Department’s chief. Ramsdell’s was one of the voices on the radio Friday offering congratulations.
Although Cheesman looked at both the Bellingham and Tacoma police departments when he left the police academy in 1982, he quickly found himself back home working as an officer for the Fircrest police department at $10 an hour.
“I was the happiest kid in the world,” Cheesman said. “You know, coming back to where I grew up.”
Inspiration
A childhood encounter with a police officer set Cheesman on the road to policing. When he was nine, his home was burglarized. At first, he though the thief had taken a prized model airplane. But the burglar had left it in his brother’s bedroom, presumably for something better.
“The police took my plane, which made me sad, because they were going to check it for prints,” he said. Although the family never got its TV and other possessions back, the burglar was arrested.
“An officer brought my plane back to me,” Cheesman recalled. “He just took that extra minute and talked to me. He told me how I helped solve the crime. Because of me, they caught the bad guy.”
The incident showed Cheesman how a police officer can positively affect a person’s life, especially a child’s.
Today, Cheesman and his officers visit schools on a regular basis and take kids to summer camps staffed by law enforcement officers. On Wednesday, he visited Fircrest schools for the last time as chief.
“They made a big sign and all the kids signed it at the middle school,” he said, clearly gratified. “And every kid at the grade school made me a card and gave it to me ... I’m gonna read every one of those.”
When he staffs the Washington State Fair, officers from other agencies are amazed at the numerous high school kids who approach Cheesman to say hello. He’s known them since they were in kindergarten, he explains.
Small town policing
Cheesman intended to retire in February but delayed until May in the hopes that a replacement could be found. That didn’t happen but the city is actively looking, he said.
Fully staffed, the department has 10 officers and support staff.
“He is so well loved in our community,” Fircrest resident June Craig, 86, said of Cheesman. “He’s like none other. He’s our hero. He keeps us safe so we can have fun living here.”
When Craig’s husband died, Cheesman was one of the first to visit her to offer both condolences and reassurance that the police would look out for her. It’s something he’s long done when he learns of a spouse’s death in his community.
“It’s important to let them know, we’re here for them,” he said. “If she needs anything. ‘Here’s my phone number’ and whatever we can do, just drive by and check in once in a while.”
Don’t speed in Fircrest
Speeding drivers is the number one complaint Cheesman gets from Fircrest residents, despite its long reputation for cracking down on drivers who treat the city as a shortcut. He loves the reputation, he said, but added that drivers need to be going at least five miles an hour over the speed limit before they’ll get a ticket.
Using radar, he likes to demonstrate to residents that cars aren’t going as fast as they seem to be.
“Don’t go through Fircrest if you’re a bad guy,” said Fircrest police Det. John Roberts.
The city doesn’t have the high crime that nearby cities do, Roberts said. He investigates vandalism and vehicle prowls rather than homicides and assaults.
Roberts said Cheesman is the best kind of boss.
“He’s our chief, but he’s our friend also,” Roberts said. “He’s opened his family and life towards every officer that’s here.”
Catching the bad guys
Cheesman had to think hard about the last homicide in the city. He pegged it at about a decade ago. What he does recall readily are the children who have died on his watch. Some were from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome but one, a teen girl who died by suicide after being bullied at school, still causes him grief.
“That one sticks with me ... being bullied ... it really, really, really bothered me,” he said.
Policing, Cheesman said, is a two-way street between a community and its police force.
Part of the equation is personal service. Cheesman has resisted using an online form to report crime. When someone calls the main police number a person answers. Officers visit every home or situation where an incident has occurred. The department had about 5,000 calls in 2022. Fircrest has a population of 7,100.
Every officer is required at least once during their shift to leave their vehicle to patrol on foot, check in at the rec center or business district or have lunch with school kids.
Progressive policing
When a 29-year-old man beaten by Memphis police officers died in January, Cheesman posted a statement condemning the police officers involved in Tyre Nichols’ death. It’s something that a small town chief could have just ignored.
When protesters marched through Fircrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis in 2020, Cheesman walked and talked with them.
“I think it was the right thing to do,” Cheesman said. “It gave me great traction with them. And trust and so it’s very rewarding for me.”
Cheesman welcomed the use of police body cameras. The system cost Fircrest $90,000 to implement.
“You can’t put a cost on trust,” he said.
Something like Floyd’s death paints all police with the same brush, Cheesman said.
“We have to weed our gardens,” he said. “We all have some bad apples. I think it’s important that we weed those people out. And if they are messing up, we need to know.”
Accountability works both ways, he said. He’s been able to show a parent that a negative run-in with a police officer was at the child’s, rather than the officer’s, instigation.
Passing on the wisdom
Cheesman knows that younger officers might lack the experience needed to de-escalate situations. It can be tough to stay cool when someone is calling you every name in the book. Still, he advises them not to take it personally.
“I always say, kill them with kindness,” he said. “Just treat people like your mom and dad. And you’d be surprised how much that’s carried me even when I’ve arrested people for rapes or whatever. If you treat them with respect and you sympathize with them a little bit.”
Cheesman plans on staying involved with the community and, to a lesser degree, policing. He serves on the Crime Stoppers board of directors. He’ll continue to guide children whether it be at summer camps or sports coaching. He looks forward to more golf games and spending time with wife Dana, daughters Sarah Rockefeller and Alysssa Cheesman and their families.
But he won’t stray far from Fircrest.
“It’s not heaven, but it’s pretty close,” he said.
