By Dan Thesman on Friday, October 29th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – After serving the Walla Walla Police Department for the past 10 years, Chief Scott Bieber has announced his retirement effective April 30, 2022. In his notice-to-retire letter to City Manager Nabiel Shawa, Bieber said he wished he had served his entire career with the WWPD.
“The police department is in a great place. Over the past nine and a half years we have hired some fantastic men and women who are dedicated to providing the best possible public safety services to our community,” Bieber said. “They continuously do the right thing and live up to the department motto — ‘Return with Honor.’ This has been the most fulfilling job of my entire career. I’ve had the professional time of my life.”
Bieber began his law enforcement career on April 1, 1995, with the Vancouver, Washington, Police Department. During the 27 years he spent with VPD, he worked his way up through the ranks, eventually service as a Commander and overseeing all five of the VPD divisions at various times during his tenure in that position. He left VPD in March 2012 and began his current position as WWPD Chief on March 26 of that year.
When he retires next April, Bieber will have spent 37 and one month in law enforcement. Prior to his law enforcement career, he taught seventh-grade English for two years and coached basketball and track at both the junior high and high school levels. He still holds his lifetime substitute teaching certification in the state of Washington – but don’t expect to see him in the classroom.
Bieber and his wife, Melissa, plan to spend considerably more time with their 12 grandchildren, especially watching them compete in various sports. The Biebers plan to stay in Walla Walla, which is centrally located between Vancouver and the Boise area where most of their grandchildren live. Bieber also plans to spend time playing golf.