EVERETT—Newly appointed Everett Police Chief, Robert Goetz, officially swore in on Wednesday, January 7, optimistic about what 2026 has in store for Everett’s Public Safety sector. Bringing with him 25 years of law enforcement experience, Chief Goetz plans to approach his new position with a “community-oriented” vision.
Chief Goetz was appointed to the position by Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin following former Chief John DeRousse’s retirement.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Deputy Chief Goetz for accepting this appointment to serve as Everett’s new chief of police,” said Mayor Franklin. “Robert brings decades of experience; strong relationships throughout the department and across the region; and a steady leadership style that reflects the values of our community. His willingness to step up and serve in this capacity during this period of transition speaks to his commitment to this department and the people of Everett.”
Chief Goetz’s first six days in the position have been extremely busy, he told the Lynnwood Times, not only regarding transitioning to his new role, but hitting the ground running as far as preparing the Everett Police force for great things to come.
In just the last two weeks the Everett PD has promoted eight people to the positions of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, and Deputy Chief.
“It’s both challenging and exciting – it’s new beginnings for a lot of folks. I’m really excited for them, and I’m extremely grateful for the position I’ve been given. 2026 looks to be a positive year for the Everett Police Department,” said Chief Goetz.
Chief Goetz’s call to serve began when he first enrolled himself in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1981, as a young 18-year-old man, working as an Air Traffic Controller in Southern California and Okinawa, Japan, respectively.
“I’ve always had a sense of service, to both my country and my community. When I left the military, I had the option of some free time to explore what was going on in our world and ultimately, I was drawn back to wanting to serve in a way that gave back our country,” said Goetz. “I’ve always been interested and attracted to law enforcement, and I was very fortunate to have tested for one police department – which was the Everett Police Department – and was hired shortly after that.”
Goetz added that he owes everything he has in life to his career and the community that he serves; a community he grew up in, a community he has been with through multiple stages of change. Everyday he gets up in the morning and comes to work, he said, he feels like he’s working for a community he knows, and hoping the community knows him as well.
This outlook has essentially formulated Chief Goetz approach to law enforcement, and what he hopes to bring to the Everett PD: A community focused agency with its needs and desires at heart.
From his perspective, a community-oriented police department- one who is imbedded in its community, one that meets youth where they are, all while balancing the needs of his professional staff – is integral to maintaining a healthy police department and a healthy community.
Chief Goetz described his leadership style as upholding communication as a key component to fostering a healthy work environment.
“As a leader it’s important my staff, like me, are excited to get up in the morning and come to work, that they enjoy what they’re doing, enjoying integrating with our community in a way that’s positive,” said Chief Goetz. “A lot of what we do in policing involves people having their worst day. Being able to transition away from what could be a traumatic experience for, not just the folks who are calling 911, but to our officers – staying in that healthy mindset is really important and we do that through offering services to our department members that allow them to keep mentally, and physically, healthy.”
Another element to driving a community-focused police force is transparency and meeting the public where they are. Goetz envisions this as continuing, and preserving, community neighborhood meetings where officers share information – including crime data, and updates on how the force will be leveraging new technologies to address specific issues, and concerns, the community has brought forward.
Other community events Chief Goetz plans to continue include law enforcement pottery making classes, shop with a cop events, and homework clubs for kids.
“Engaging the community in these ways is very important. It’s about spending time, one-on-one with our community members. We’ve done that in the past, we’ll continue to do that, and as Chief I’ll be sure there’s an emphasis on that and make as many of those opportunities available for our officers, who want to engage in that kind of activity, so that they too can engage in a way that’s meaningful not just to our community but to our officers as well,” said Chief Goetz.
Hiring and retention is another priority of Chief Goetz going forward and things are already off to a good start, with eight new Everett PD law enforcement officers swearing in tomorrow, Wednesday, January 14, and eight additional officers who just enrolled in the academy yesterday.
Goetz added that he’s “extremely proud” of the work the Everett PD has dedicated to getting the police department back to full staffing, but the department is “not there yet” – with 14 vacancies still left to fill. The goal, Goetz added, is to get this vacancy count down to single digits by the end of the year.
As far as cracking down on crime, Chief Goetz applauded the good work of the Violent Crime Reduction Unit (enacted in 2023 under Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin’s direction) for driving down violent crime numbers, as well as the graffiti paint over initiative that began in 2025.
“We are really focused on, not just apprehending suspects but to prevent crime and some of those prevention efforts begin with the Graffiti Paint Over, for example, that essentially lets our community know that the police department is here to support, and bring back, our community,” said Chief Goetz. “When we make efforts towards reducing the more minor incident, like graffiti, that ultimately leads to crime prevention in other areas.”
But public safety doesn’t end with crime, according to Chief Goetz, it also includes traffic safety and pedestrian safety. The Everett PD has already begun taking strides towards bolstering these by adding two additional motorcycle officers focused on traffic infraction enforcement.
Outside the uniform, Chief Goetz enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, traveling, and visiting with friends (retired cops and Marine Corps vets) down in the Pheonix, Arizona area.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
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