On Monday, May 6th Aberdeen Police Chief Steve Shumate announced that he had selected his second in command (deputy police chief) Jay Staten to fill the shoes of longtime Deputy Chief Timmons who retired from the department.

Here is what Chief Shumate had to say in his statement. 

I am pleased to announce the hiring of Jay Staten as the next Deputy Chief of the Aberdeen Police Department. Deputy Chief Staten started his law enforcement career in 1987 as a reserve deputy with the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office. He was hired as a full-time police officer by the Long Beach Police Department in 1990.

In 1994, Deputy Chief Staten started working for the Montesano Police Department. In 1999, he came to the Aberdeen Police Department and spent the next 10 years with our agency. For a five-year period, he was assigned as a detective with the Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force. He was recognized for his pro-active work within this agency.

In 2009, Deputy Chief Staten returned to the Montesano Police Department as a lead patrol officer. And then in 2011, he took over as the number 2 in charge alongside Montesano Police Chief Brett Vance.
Deputy Chief Staten has over 15 years of experience dealing with major criminal investigations. During his time in the Drug Task Force, Deputy Chief Staten handled various narcotics investigations to include street-level investigations, state and federal level cases, clandestine labs, controlled buys, and undercover operations across multiple states and countries. He was also a member of Aberdeen Police Department’s Critical Response Unit (CRU) and served as a team leader until late last year.

Deputy Chief Staten has many recognitions over the years that include Pacific County Officer of the Year in 1990 and The Daily World Police Officer of the Year award in 2009. He was also the recipient for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Regional Award for outstanding investigations 2009-2010.
I am excited to have Deputy Chief Staten as part of our APD family. He is a highly respected and hardworking law enforcement officer.

His initial duties will be to oversee Support Services and Corrections. Among his many duties, he will be instrumental in helping facilitate our Pro-Act Team. This team will be focused on combatting illegal drug activity throughout the city.