Retiring officers log 94 years of service

Chief Roger Bragdon isn’t the only Spokane police officer who’s retiring. Three 30-plus year veterans of the Spokane Police Department were honored for their combined 94 years of service to the city Friday afternoon as they prepare to retire at the end of the month.

Sgt. Larry Adams, most recently a patrol supervisor, Sgt. Mike Yates, supervisor of the Department’s Crime Analysis Unit, and Patrol Officer First Class Mike Fetcho, were all hired in the early 1970s.

Bragdon, who presented plaques to all three men, joined the department during the same era, when the agency was adding police for the coming Expo ‘74.

He said the men had joined the department at a time when the standard of conduct was rising for officers and that they had helped to define the new professionalism that became the model for Spokane.

All were members of the department’s original SWAT team, and Fetcho was awarded a Medal of Merit in 2004 for continuous superior service over a long period of time.

Adams was a detective for several years, and Yates was in the drug unit before helping form the current Crime Analysis Unit model.

Their last day will be Dec. 30.