Meet Westport Police Chief Ron Phillips

Westport's New Police Chief on Community, Stability, and Finding Home on the Coast

Chief Ronald Phillips. Image permission from Chief Phillips

Chief Ronald Phillips arrived in Westport on February 12th, starting his new role just four days later on February 16th. He made the cross-country move from Orlando, Florida, surviving two tire blowouts on the U-Haul trip, to head the Westport Police Department. Originally from Madison, Mississippi, Phillips brings 33 years of law enforcement experience, a master's degree in Public Administration, and a genuine enthusiasm for his new home on the Washington coast.

The Drift sat down with Chief Phillips to hear about his journey here, his vision for the department, and what it's like to trade Orlando traffic for deer on the morning commute.

What brought you all the way from Florida to Westport?

I loved Florida and lived the life, but after 15 years, I started looking to what was next. I was tired of the heat and the hurricanes. Originally, my goal in life was to be a sergeant, and then I accomplished that goal. I knew I could do more with everything I had learned from police training. I went back to school and got a Master’s degree in Public Administration. I started to feel like I had a bigger calling, so I began exploring opportunities. I was thinking of a beach town in Florida, but you know, I love to hike, so when Westport popped up, I was really interested. I talked with Tommy Cappa (Westport’s City Administrator), and it all lined up. Our philosophies aligned, and we really have the same ideas about how we want to do things. Mayor Welter asked me to fly out right after Christmas. We spent four days here, met a lot of people around town, and I think the decision was made before we flew home.

What has surprised you most about life here?

This town is amazing. This county's amazing. The people are very different from where I come from. And when I say different, that's in a good way, because everybody here makes you feel like family. The people I work with make us feel like family. When we first moved here, people invited us into their homes. They wanted to give us their car because we didn't have one up here yet. And it's just not what I'm used to. So it has been awesome to come here and feel that. 

What feels familiar and what feels different? 

The big familiarity is just remembering my small town where I grew up, and how close everybody was, and reaching out a hand when somebody needed something. At the end of the day, police work is police work, and it's all the same. It's just that this is a smaller community, and we have the ability to tend to our people a little better and give a better service to the community.

The biggest difference? I'm used to being able to call Uber Eats at any time of the day or night. Now I have to have my dinner plans made before 8:00 PM!

What community events can people look forward to?

I want to start having regular community interactions. On May 1st, we are having “Coffee With a Cop” at Saltwater Sips, 8:30-10 AM. People can come out, there is no agenda, and just have a talk. I'll listen to anything, and if I can't answer something, I'll get back to you. We're going to do an ice cream thing in the summer. And we've already started planning for National Night Out in August. We've officially registered, and we want to make it bigger than last year. We're going to try to get local businesses involved, bring their business stuff, and give something to the community. Back in Florida, we had probably 20 vendors. It's a community event, we just want to bring everyone together.

What is the current state of the department, and what are your goals?

In addition to me, we have four police officers. We're slotted for six. My true goal is to get more than six, because we do provide a good service. Everybody here wants to feel safe. When people see more police out here, they're going to feel even safer, and that's going to deter a lot more crime from coming to our city. 

Is the difficulty in hiring and retaining officers unique to Westport?

I don't think it's a Westport issue. Washington has a shortage statewide. Westport is so far out; if you don't know about a place, you're not going to know how to apply there. We're also a smaller department, so we don't have as many specialty roles, like a drug task force or a SWAT team. Part of my five-year plan is to implement an investigator position. And I plan to go to public safety testing events and introduce myself. I want people to see who I am and hear about Westport.

What is the main thing you want to bring to this department?

Stability. I mean, I've just moved across the country, I’m not going anywhere. I want to make everybody feel like they've got somebody who is here for the long haul. I'm very transparent and open with the officers. Whenever I think about a change that might work, I sit down with everybody and say, " Here's what I'm thinking, and I need your feedback. If you don't think it's going to work, convince me why, and tell me what plan you have instead.” I want them to have buy-in to the agency and the community.

What's the status of the Westport Flock cameras? 

Currently, the Flock cameras (license plate readers that capture passing vehicles) are not active. But I really think we need to have more community conversations about them. I understand where people think it's an invasion of privacy, but we are using this system for crimes, not everyday people driving around. I have used Flock to help solve a murder case. It’s very beneficial, and we are going to have a public information session very soon. I hope to have a Flock representative there as well to help answer questions around privacy. 

Is there anything else you would like people to know about you?

I put my pants on every day just like you do. I want people to see me as me. I love going out for hikes, listening to music, watching horror movies, and catching up on sleep. If you see me out, say hello. I like to ride down by the docks, put my head into businesses, and I want people to be like, oh, there’s Ron- he’s out here wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. If you want to stop and chat, we can talk about more than police stuff. If you invite me to the BBQ, I’ll come if I can. If you want to come by the station, I’ve always got an open door. I think it's important to build those bridges.