LATERAL POLICE OFFICER

About the role

The incumbent of this position is responsible for general duty police work which includes the prevention, detection and investigation of crimes and for maintaining and enforcing law and order. The position is located in the Lynnwood Police Department and is under the direct supervision of the shift duty sergeant.

Responsibilities

• Provide service to the citizens of the City of Lynnwood to safeguard and protect their lives, property, and constitutional rights.
• Acquire and maintain thorough knowledge of all state, county, and city laws and ensure equal and impartial enforcement.
• Acquire and maintain familiarity with administrative policy and execute service programs within assigned area of responsibility.
• Secure all information pertinent to the proper conduct of business prior to the tour of duty.
• Inspect and maintain all equipment used.
• Maintain firearm proficiency.
• Comply with all safety standards and regulations.
• Work toward the achievement of departmental and divisional objectives within assigned area of responsibility.
• Gather, submit, and maintain intelligence information and provide information to other units that may be useful to their investigations.
• Maintain awareness of newly enacted laws and recent court decisions and their effect on police duties and responsibilities.
• Respond to crime and/or traffic accident scenes and ensure the protection of the scene and all physical evidence and witnesses until relieved by higher authority.
• Conduct preliminary investigation at crime scenes until either relieved by a detective or to a point where a lapse in the investigation would not hamper or jeopardize the outcome of the case.
• Discern crime, public disorder, attractive nuisances, and other crime generating conditions and develop corrective strategies.
• Resolve neighborhood crime and/or disorder problems.
• Maintain radio communication during tour of duty, including mealtimes, and maintain a response time conducive to the needs of the citizens served, promptly responding to all calls assigned and to those calls assigned other units where their closer proximity and the nature of the call demands immediate response.
• Maintain familiarity with the city and specific areas of assignment.
• Provide first aid and rescue services at crime scenes, accidents, disasters, and other emergency situations.
• Engage in a wide variety of traffic direction and crowd control activities, particularly in connection with traffic accidents, demonstrations, riots, and disasters.
• Promote and preserve order, defend persons from imminent physical harm, respond to requests for protective service, resolve conflicts between individuals and groups and protect individual constitutional guarantees.
• Maintain records of daily activities and present testimony at judicial proceedings and other formal hearings.
• Serve as an interpreter of the law to exercise discretion in determining whether to take no action, to advise, to warn, or to arrest.
• Enforce all moving violations and parking regulations according to city ordinances to ensure the smooth flow of traffic throughout the City of Lynnwood.
• Make recommendations to improve operational effectiveness.
• Encourage voluntary compliance with the law and reduce the opportunity for criminal activity.
• Give special speeches and presentations to civic and other groups to promote the police image as assigned.
• Evaluate officer performance and complete necessary report forms while assigned to the Field Officer Training and Evaluation Program.

Qualifications

• Must have been employed as a full time paid law enforcement officer with a municipal, county or state law enforcement agency for at least 12 months, continually, within the last 36 months.
• Must have satisfactorily completed the Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Officer course or meet the standards prescribed by the Washington State Training Agency Commission for Equivalency.

Skills

• Ability to analyze situations quickly and objectively recognize actual and potential dangers and to determine the proper course of action.
• Ability to cope with situations firmly, courteously, tactfully and with respect for the rights of others.
• Ability to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships.
• Ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written instruction.
• Must possess good powers of observation and memory.
• Must have excellent moral character, physical strength and agility.
• Ability to understand the problems and attitudes of people of all ethnic and economic groups in relation to law enforcement agencies.
• Ability to write clear, concise incident reports organizing details logically and utilizing correct spelling and grammar.
• Ability to read, understand and interpret applicable federal and state laws and city ordinances, and established principles, practices, policies and procedures of police work.
• Ability to communicate effectively with co-workers, superiors and the general public, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to satisfactorily complete the prescribed courses of training at the police academy.
• Ability to maintain a high standard of physical fitness.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Good mental intelligence, emotional stability, self assurance and a high degree of initiative and good judgment are required.

Benefits

• Lateral officers are only eligible to participate in the incentive program once.
• Lateral officers will be credited with vacation accrual consistent with their prior experience up to seven (7) years of service.
• Following completion of the probation period, lateral officers will also be eligible for additional wage augments including educational premium pay and assignment/specialty pay as applicable.

Pay

• Police Officer Salary (2026 Base Wages)
• Step 1: $51.1436
• Step 2: $55.5051
• Step 3: $57.7599
• Step 4: $60.1059
• Step 5: $61.9622
• Hourly Rate: $51.1436 - $61.9622
• Per Pay Period: $4,091.49 - $4,956.98
• Annual Salary: $106,378.69 - $128,881.38

Schedule

• Shifts may vary based on departmental needs.