Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto and Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders each shared their perspectives and gained more insight on the relationship between the City of Yelm and TCSO during a ride-along in the evening hours of Friday, June 6.
Though he described the ride-along as being “pretty uneventful,” DePinto said he and Sanders were able to catch up on what’s been going on in their jurisdictions over the last several years.
“The ride-along went really well. It was pretty uneventful, but that’s a good thing,” DePinto said. “We caught up on a lot of different things he’s been doing since he was elected and vice-versa. He’s a Yelm resident, and understands a lot about what goes on here. It was good talking about different partnerships and how we’ve been interacting with his deputies. The relationship (between Yelm and TCSO) is the strongest it’s been in a long time.”
The mayor added they also discussed the recent public safety tax — passed in 2023 — which allows Thurston County to levy 0.2% sales and use tax and dedicate revenue to law enforcement, prosecution and public defense services.
Additionally, DePinto noted he and Sanders spoke about what the mayor described as the strongest part of Yelm and TCSO’s relationship: Thurston County SWAT.
“A lot of the contact we have between the county is from our police chief, as well as our officers who are on the Thurston County SWAT team,” DePinto said. “The SWAT team is a good representation of our partnership. With increasing our partnership numbers from one to three, and adding the first woman we’ve ever had on our SWAT team with officer Garcia on it as well, our partnership is really strong.”
He noted YPD Assistant Chief Tillman Atkins is a Thurston County SWAT commander, which DePinto described as a “big deal” as far as leadership and recognition goes.
“We never used to have this many positions on SWAT. Our partnership with SWAT is one of the biggest that you can see directly,” DePinto said.
The mayor also praised Sanders for his constant involvement and presence at events and activities within the Yelm community, such as the Prairie Days Parade and the annual Charity Mushball Tournament in recent years.
“Sheriff Sanders is very active in the Yelm community. One of the things we talked about was leadership, and he’s out there with his deputies. He’s out there doing the graveyard shift, and meeting with so many different folks. He has a lot of people he’s responsible for as sheriff, from jail, to SWAT, to patrol. He’s one person, but he does a lot to make sure he’s present and available. I do appreciate that as well,” DePinto said. “I’ve enjoyed the relationship I share with Sheriff Sanders, along with the City of Yelm. We are cooperating quite a bit lately, and partnering with them in quite a bit of aspects.”
