Walla Walla Police Chief Scott Bieber is announcing his retirement, effective April 30, 2022. In his notice-to-retire letter to City Manager Nabiel Shawa, Chief Bieber repeated his mantra that he wished he had served his entire career with the Walla Walla Police Department (WWPD), not just the final 10 years.

Chief Bieber began his law enforcement career on April 1, 1985 with the Vancouver, Wash., Police Department (VPD). During the 27 years he spent with VPD, Bieber worked his way up through the ranks, eventually serving 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 the Police Chief for the City of Walla Walla on March 26 of that year. When he retires next April, Chief Bieber will have spent 37 years and one month in law enforcement.

Prior to his law enforcement career, Chief Bieber was a seventh-grade English teacher for two years, also coaching 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 a classroom anytime.

He and his wife Melissa plan to spend considerably more time with their 12 grandkids, especially watching them compete in various sports. They plan to stay in Walla Walla, which is centrally located between Vancouver and the Boise area where most of their grandkids live. It doesn’t hurt that the weather here in the spring, summer and fall are ideal for his golf game.

“The police department is in a great place. Over the past 9½ 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.”