Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke swore in Ken Thomas as the new Kent Police chief at the City Council meeting Tuesday at City Hall.
Thomas, 42, was hired last month to replace Steve Strachan. Strachan resigned in December to serve as chief deputy of the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Strachan and former Kent Police Chief Ed Crawford attended the ceremony.
Thomas started his police career in Kent at age 20. He has worked 22 years in the department.
As an officer and sergeant, Thomas worked in patrol, as a narcotics detective and supervised the major crimes detective unit. As a patrol lieutenant, he supervised the Neighborhood Response Team, the special investigations unit (gangs, narcotics), the special operations unit (bikes and marine patrol), the field training officer program, crime analysis and was commander of the SWAT team.
