Mark Konoske has been selected by King County Sherriff John Urquhart to serve as Interim Chief of the Burien Police Department, the City announced Friday, Sept. 1.
Konoske will replace retiring Police Chief Scott Kimerer, who hung up his badge on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Konoske brings more than 27 years of experience to Burien. He served as a captain in the City of Shoreline and with Metro Transit, and also served as a commander with the King County Sheriff Office’s Internal Investigations Unit, reporting directly to Sheriff Urquhart. Konoske also served as a Patrol Sergeant in Precinct 4, which includes Burien and surrounding areas.
Konoske has a bachelor’s degree from Charter Oak State College and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He also served for three years in the US Army.
Interim Chief Konoske will be promoted to the rank of Major within the Sheriff’s Office for the duration of this assignment.
“I’m excited to be back serving the Burien community,†Konoske said. “I’m looking forward to working with residents, business owners, and our many diverse communities.â€
A permanent police chief will be selected by Burien City Manager Brian Wilson. The City of Burien will engage in an open and transparent process to gather community input, which the City Manager will take into account when he selects the new police chief.
“This is an opportunity to gather input from the community about how we should be policed,†Wilson said. “We want the community engagement process to be robust and transparent.â€
“We value our relationship with the King County Sheriff’s Office and the service Chief Scott Kimerer delivered to our community for fourteen years,†Wilson added. “I will be working with Sheriff Urquhart to ensure we get the best possible applicant pool for the new police chief.â€
Interim Chief Konoske begins on Sept. 1, 2017 and will continue his service until a permanent police chief is selected.
Sheriff Urquhart has played favorites within the KCSO for many years, there are many very qualified candidates to interview and consider that may never get a chance because of his favoritism and retaliatory style of managing. As a city that contracts/pays for police services through the KCSO the City of Burien shouldn’t be restricted as to the pool of candidates. I hope the City Manager and City Council consider this before hiring our next Police Chief.
The comments made by PJ is also well known outside of the KCSO and published in the media several times.
Please note that John Urquhart is up for reelection and has a formidable opponent in Mitzi Johanknecht. Mitzi is passionate and has proven to be an incredible leader in all her positions at the KCSO and the police union and is endorsed by the Seattle Times.