Burien promotes interim police chief to permanent role

(The Center Square) – Burien City Manager Adolfo Bailon is promoting its interim Police Chief Tom Calabrese to the permanent position after the city’s fallout with the former police chief.

Calabrese has strong ties with the city as he first started his law enforcement career as a patrol deputy in the City of Burien in 2000.

Calabrese has served as the captain of the Burien Police Department since April 2023 and has served as interim chief since Police Chief Ted Boe resigned .

Boe went on to become the police chief for the neighboring city of Des Moines in June. He had served as the Burien chief of police since 2018. Prior to that, he served 18 years in the King County Sheriff’s Office, as sergeant, precinct operations captain, and major investigations section captain in Seattle, Burien and SeaTac.

Boe’s resignation comes as Burien goes through a legal battle with the King County Sheriff’s Office regarding Ordinance 827 , which effectively bans homeless people from living on any public property at any time.

In response, King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall said that the city’s ordinance violates federal case law and that her office will not enforce the public camping portion of the ordinance because it believes it violates constitutional rights of residents.

Burien contracts with the King County Sheriff’s Office for its own dedicated and shared personnel as part of an interlocal agreement between the two entities. The city’s 2024 adopted budget includes $16.7 million as part of a police contract with King County.

Calabrese voiced his intention to help the city flourish and to be a positive influence on the community in his new role.

“It has always been home to me and when this opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t say no,” Calabrese said in a news release . “I also came back because I hope and want to have an impact on the current generation of officers that are working in Burien.”

Calabrese will become the permanent city police chief on Saturday.