Community Government Police & Fire

City honors retired police chief Busey

Dozens of city residents joined staff and council members to bid farewell to Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey on June 24.

Busey retired after serving in the city’s police department for 34 years, the last 12 as chief.

The recognition began with an afternoon reception and continued through the regularly scheduled council meeting, where Busey’s retirement was the only item on the agenda.

Busey spent his entire law enforcement career in Gig Harbor, working his way up from an entry-level officer to chief. During his tenure, the department grew to a staff of 24 commissioned officers and three administrative staff, and became “one of – if not the best – in the state,” Mayor Mary Barber said at the reception. “I hear that when I’m with other mayors.”

City Administrator Katrina Knutson called Busey “a truly dedicated public servant…a consistent and steady voice. He has always had Gig Harbor’s back,” Knutson said.

Many of the comments were tearful, including Busey’s own and those from his son Chance Busey. Knutson noted that this was the first time that she had ever cried at a council meeting.

Retired Police Chief Kelly Busey, center, with a display of medals representing his decades of service to Gig Harbor. Interim Chief Trey Federici is on the left. GHPD Lt. Fred Douglas on the right. Photo by Charlee Glock-Jackson

Distinguished Service Award

Interim Chief Tray Federici, who had been sworn in earlier in the day, presented Busey with a collection of badges representing Busey’s long career.

Federici said that his first act as interim chief was establishing a GHPD Law Enforcement Distinguished Service Award and naming Busey as the first recipient. “He didn’t just oversee the department, he shaped it,” Federici said. “Chief Busey’s influence is woven into the daily rhythm of this agency. He left us with a roadmap, a blueprint to success.”

In the future the city will give the award to those who build culture, protect the community and uphold civic values, Knutson said.

Busey reminisces

Busey recalled driving through Gig Harbor as a youngster growing up in the Bremerton-Silverdale area. Even as a child, he said, he recognized Gig Harbor as a special place and wondered if maybe someday he’d live here.

He was one of more than 100 candidates for one opening on the Gig Harbor police force in 1991. The department hired him as its ninth officer. On one of his first overnight shifts, he recalled pulling over a man who was 6-foot-10 and had multiple outstanding arrest warrants.

“He was a mountain of a man,” Busey said. “I remember that I slid two pair of handcuffs to him and then I politely asked him to put them on.”

Mayor Mary Barber, right, a letter of city’s appreciation for Busey’s many years of service as Busey and his wife, Shawna listen. Photo by Charlee Glock-Jackson

Busey added that he “knew many of the bad guys and they knew me. They knew I would treat them fairly. That kind of trust mattered.”

He handled all kinds of calls during his career, from parents whose teens refused to go to bed, to memories that he hopes he’ll never have to revisit.

One of his favorite memories, he said, was helping an elderly woman who was being exploited by a predator. Busey removed the man from her home, then took her to the bank and helped her retrieve what had been stolen.

“That was when I truly understood the meaning of public service,” he said, wiping away a tear.

Spending time with family

Chance Busey spoke eloquently about his dad. “You’ve been the champion of the Gig Harbor community from the very first day. Sometimes it felt like all of Gig Harbor knew you and I thought you were a celebrity,” the younger Busey said.

“You taught me to take care of the little things, and then the big things would fall into place. I thank you for so many things. And above all thank you for showing me how to love a community through service and how to contribute to a better world by being a man of character.”

Now that he had retired, Chief Busey won’t have to carry a gun and won’t have juggle two phones. He’ll be spending more time on his boat, with his wife and family, and doing other things he loves. But, he said, when he hears a siren, he’ll still want to know what’s going on.

The city of Gig Harbor posted the police chief job on Monday, June 30. Applications are due July 25. The salary range is $182,561 to $228,353.