Walla Walla Police Foundation

K9 officers are of great importance to the security and safety of those that call Walla Walla home. In 2023 11,310 was spent on training and equipment for a narc k9. Walla Walla det. Nick klicker picked up his new narcotics k9 partner daze, a yellow labrador in 2024. Currently, daze is trained to detect methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. In 2023 13,610 was spent for the purchase, training and equipment for a patrol k9. This new member of the wwpd is k9 hoss, a belgian malinois, who will partner with officer eric eastman. Hoss is trained in apprehension and will serve on patrol with officer eastman. 500 was spent in 2023 with the pacific nw Police detection dog association to support the attendance of Walla Walla Police k9 handlers at their conference in may on narcotic & explosive detection held in marysville, Washington.

In 2023 the Walla Walla Police Foundation spent 16,368 towards building a fence at Washington park for a playground perimeter. Walla Walla fence donated an additional 3,700 in materials and labor to the project and law enforcement and other volunteers donated their time. The fence and gates surround the playground area where caregivers take young children to play. This fence surrounds the play area to keep them safely inside and protected while having fun at the park.

Law enforcement support is mission critical for the Foundation. The support this year included 9,703 used to purchase safety helmets for each of the law enforcement officers; training support; and assisting law enforcement families in emergency situations. In addition, a refrigerator was stocked at the Police department with healthy food choices. This provided officers an option who were unable to get a healthy meal due to their schedules rather than snacks from the vending machine.

The Walla Walla Police Foundation has established a community care fund to provide emergency financial assistance to community members in need. Community members in need could include victims of crimes such as domestic violence or human trafficking, or someone that just needs a handup, a hotel room for the night, or a tank of gas to get out of town to escape an abusive relationship. Wwpd officers in years past have routinely reached into their own pockets to help those in need. The Foundation now provides discretionary funds to assist these community members in emergency situations. In 2023 the Foundation granted a total of 6,000 to replentish the petty cash fund held and monitored at the Walla Walla Police department to reimburse officers for these community care expenditures. The Foundation spent 3,435 in community care funds to purchase items to be included in special needs boxes for community members in need. The boxes were based on age and size. They included many basic supplies such as socks, underwear, shaving supplies, personal hygiene items, tooth brushes, soap, shampoo, pillows and blankets, etc. One of our community partners provided purchase discounts and our volunteers, including many of our Police officers, spent a lot of time gathering and assembling these items for distribution. Numerous other individuals and families in Walla Walla were assisted in times of critical need during 2023 including food, clothing, shelter and other assistance during emergencies totalling 5,874. The Foundation dedicated 7,677 in total to support victims of domestic violence. This included assistance with the purchase of a vehicle for a family in need, phone cards, food vouchers, and cameras for victim's safety. The Foundation supports education and training for its officers and other law enforcement personnel. In 2023 the Foundation had the opportunity to host "strangulation training: the last warning shot" which was attended by law enforcement field training officers from Walla Walla and other law enforcement agencies. The cost of the training was 16,890, with fees charged to the agencies of 9,400 for participants to offset costs, and a 5,000 donation from crime watch of Walla Walla to support the training. 2,100 in grants were given to the following organizations: 500 to crime watch in Walla Walla for their cops & kids program; 1,100 to the Walla Walla professional firefighters association to sponsor youth in the summer camp for burn victims; 500 to the Walla Walla community college Foundation to support the melissa harting scholarship fund.