By Mark Edward Nero
Port of Seattle announced on May 3, the hiring of Rod Covey as its new Chief of Police . Covey acted as interim chief since the retirement of Chief Colleen Wilson in November. He takes over full-time chief duties effective immediately.
A total of 32 candidates nationwide applied for the position, according to the port.
“We held an extensive competition for the police chief position with an impressive list of candidates,” Port of Seattle Interim CEO Dave Soike said in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to select someone with the depth of experience around the country and within our own department that Chief Covey has amassed.”
Covey served as deputy chief of the Port of Seattle Police Department since November 2009, and previously spent 32 years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, where he was the assistant director for Operations, Patrol, and Agency support. In that role, he oversaw a wide variety of functions that included training, research and planning, community education, crime victims unit, internal affairs and more.
He holds a Bachelor degree in Management and a Masters in Educational Leadership.
The Port of Seattle Police Department consists of 102 commissioned police officers and 41 non-commissioned personnel providing the primary law enforcement service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the port’s maritime properties including two cruise ship terminals, one grain terminal, a public cargo terminal, four public marinas and multiple real estate assets.
