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Spokane Valley appoints Capt. Mark Werner new police chief

Mark Werner, who has been appointed the new police chief of Spokane Valley poses for a photo on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, at the Spokane Public Safety Building in Spokane, Wash. TYLER TJOMSLAND tylert@spokesman.com (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Pia Hallenberg piah@spokesman.com(509) 459-5427

Spokane Valley city officials announced Tuesday that Capt. Mark Werner will be the city’s next police chief.

He replaces Rick VanLeuven, who retires June 30 after serving as Spokane Valley police chief for nine years.

Werner, who has been with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for 21 years, most recently as the patrol division commander, said he’s looking forward to working with officers and staff at the Spokane Valley precinct.

“I lived in the Valley for 16 years and my wife has a business there,” Werner said, adding that most of his patrol work was in Spokane Valley so he feels like he knows the community well.

Werner will relocate from the downtown Public Safety Building to the Spokane Valley precinct on Sprague Avenue, and he plans to spend as much time as possible with VanLeuven over the next couple of weeks.

“That’s the best way to find out what the department is working on,” Werner said. “There are great deputies and support staff in the Valley. Everyone there is committed to quality service.”

Werner said he’s also looking forward to meeting with community groups and leaders, and that he supports all the good work being done by SCOPE volunteers.

Because Spokane Valley has a contract for law enforcement services with the Sheriff’s department, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich nominated three deputies for the Spokane Valley chief’s position.

The two others were Capt. John Nowels, investigations division commander, and Capt. Dave Ellis, intelligence division commander.

Spokane Valley acting city manager Mark Calhoun selected Werner based on the input from two groups of city staff and local officials who interviewed Werner last week.

Werner is 53, married, and has two sons and two grandchildren.

But the plush unicorn in the corner of his office is not a toy for visiting grandchildren.

“We get the unicorn if we say something that’s unrealistically positive,” Werner said, laughing. “Yes, it’s in my office a lot. I guess I’m that ‘the glass is always half- full’ kind of guy.”