City says farwell to the Chief

By Scott D. Johnston

Retiring Ocean Shores Police Chief Mike Styner joined more than 100 friends and well-wishers n a celebration of his more than three decades of service to the North Beach community at a party March 31 at the Lions Club.

Styner announced his retirement in February and was honored at an Ocean Shores City Council meeting March 27. Neccie Logan, Deputy Chief since November, 2014, was sworn in as Police Chief that evening.

On hand for the Friday afternoon potluck party were Mayor Crystal Dingler and City Council members Gordon Broadbent, Jackie Farra, John Lynn and Holly Plackett, as well as Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott and Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers.

In an interview as the celebration was winding down, Styner reflected on his 36-years in local law enforcement. “I knew it was my career when I first started,” he recalled.

In an era of ever-increasing science and study, his proudest achievement is simply, “somebody with my background, working my way up through the ranks and…serving the community for 10 years as chief of police,” he said.

“I was a Hoquiam born and raised kid (who) never spent a day in college in my life.” Starting in 1979 as a reserve officer, “some people at the Ocean Shores Police Department spent time with me, they nurtured me along,” he said.

His biggest disappointment as chief has been the city’s ongoing financial struggles that began with the 2008 recession, and the resulting losses of manpower and resources that made it “so difficult to try to nurture the department, to bring it along and grow it, to serve the community.” He said budget cuts that resulted in having to “pull the plug on surf rescue” were especially disappointing.

Asked “what kept you awake at night” as chief, he again noted “the challenges we face with staffing levels,” where a force of 10-12 today carries the load that used to be assigned to 16 or 17. For Styner, it remains a gut-level concern for “the guys being safe out there, and having enough help to be able to do an efficient, effective and safe job.”

Styner has been saying for several years that cutbacks have made the local force less pro-active and more reactive. “It’s so, so important for a police department, and a fire department, to be involved in what’s going on in the community and be able to have programs for crime prevention, for fire prevention, and we just don’t have enough people to do that right now.” He believes the challenge remains “to be able to work toward having the resources… the financial wherewithal we need to be able to do an effective job.”

He said the scariest moment of his career came in the 1980s, and involved an alcohol-fueled crowd descending upon an out-of-control driver on the beach during the infamous Fog Festival. It was a suddenly serious situation he helped bring under control, miraculously without any injuries.

Despite the occasional stresses and setbacks, he found plenty to like serving the little beach town. “Ocean Shores is the type of community where an officer has a lot of opportunities for heartwarming moments,” he said.

Styner and his wife, Christina, are looking forward to relaxing at their home on 20 acres on the Humptulips River. “I’m looking forward to hunting and fishing and just letting my mind wander. It’s been about eight years now since my mind could shut down for more than half a second at a time.”