Interim King Co. sheriff named as job changes following vote

SEATTLE — King County has named a new interim sheriff as the department moves under the authority of the county executive.

County Executive Dow Constantine announced Tuesday that Patti Cole-Tindall, currently second in command at the sheriff’s department, will be appointed interim sheriff and will start Jan. 1.

The Seattle Times reports that Cole-Tindall, 57, will be the first person of color to serve as sheriff in Washington’s largest county.

King County voters authorized the switch atop the county’s law enforcement department when they voted last year to make sheriff an appointed, rather than elected, position.

That change goes into effect in 2022, when the term of current Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht, who was elected in 2017, ends.

Cole-Tindall lives in Kent and has been with the sheriff’s department for about six years after a long career in public service. She has served as undersheriff, the department’s No. 2, for the last year and a half, after serving as the department’s chief of technical services for almost five years.

“Patti has both the experience and the temperament to be able to lead her employees forward in a productive way,” Constantine said.