EVERETT — The 911 calls pile up, backup is often scarce and rookie Everett Police officer Ruben Oviedo is learning fast what it means to patrol an understaffed city.

From 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., about three nights a week, Oviedo patrols Everett, responding to emergencies and finding purpose in helping people.

He graduated from the academy in June and hit the pavement in July, stepping into a department with 20 vacant officer positions — a shortage that has only worsened in recent years.

Since 2019, the Everett Police Department has struggled to keep its ranks full. While the department has hired 91 officers since 2020, it continues to lose officers each year.

It’s a challenge felt statewide.

Washington has had the lowest officer-to-resident ratio in the nation for 14 consecutive years, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Gov. Bob Ferguson proposed a $100 million grant program in January to boost hiring in the most recent state budget.

In December, the City Council approved the 2025 budget designating public safety as the top expense, with the police department receiving $51.1 million — up from $50.8 million in 2024. The department accounts for about 30% of the general fund.

For Oviedo, however, the decision to join the force was personal.

From Casino Road to the badge

Watching the news, Oviedo often felt helpless, always on the outside looking in. Then, one day, he saw a car flip in front of him. An elderly man inside struggled to escape. Standing there, unable to help, he knew — he didn’t want to be a bystander anymore.

He grew up near West Casino Road, an area long known for high crime rates and frequent police calls. He remembers dialing 911 as a kid. Though Oviedo’s experiences with officers were never negative, many in his community feared the police.

“I grew up around the area. I know the people. I know what the people think of the police,” Oviedo said.

Casino Road’s large immigrant population, he said, often hesitates to call law enforcement due to concerns about immigration status. When people say he doesn’t understand their struggles, Oviedo tells them, “I know exactly what it’s like,” which has allowed him to build trust with callers.

That connection drives him. When a call comes in from his old neighborhood, he jumps on it.

“I see a call in West Casino, and I’m hopping on that,” he said.

Oviedo said this familiarity is not just about street cred. He has found it to be an effective de-escalation tool.

“They open up a little bit more, knowing you grew up in the same area, went through the same issues,” Oviedo said. “It’s different if you get a cop who grew up in Medina or Bellevue — like, ‘How are you supposed to relate to me?’ I grew up two blocks away from you. I dealt with the same issues.”

Staffing shortages leave officers stretched thin

Everett’s staffing crisis mirrors broader law enforcement trends. A January Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs release noted that policing in Washington has been caught between public scrutiny after the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and renewed calls for law-and-order measures, arguing recent public safety policies are “designed to discourage or forbid the police from policing,” and leave officers feeling uncomfortable and unsupported in their jobs, according to the release.

“This back-and-forth is not merely an abstract debate; it has tangible consequences for communities, particularly those already marginalized,” the release added.

Vacancies in Everett’s police department mean officers have little “discretionary time,” said police spokesperson Natalie Given. That’s when they typically conduct proactive policing — making traffic stops, addressing narcotics activity, handling nuisance crimes like trespassing. But with staffing stretched thin, those priorities fall by the wayside, she said.

“These are things our community really, really cares about,” Given said. “And we hear them. But those are going to be the first things that kind of fall to the side as we have to address immediate calls.”

She estimates an Everett officer responds to 15 to 20 calls per shift.

“Our detective units are slammed,” Given said.

Despite the hiring crisis, Everett PD avoids offering financial incentives. Given said the department instead looks to recruit officers who want to serve Everett, specifically.

“We really love to hire people that care about this community because they tend to do well here,” Given said.

Given called the staffing shortage a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” As officers struggle to keep up with crime and quality-of-life issues like public drug use and reckless driving, community frustration grows, eroding trust in the department, Given said.

“It sucks,” Oviedo said. “I really don’t know what it’s like to work when we are fully staffed.”

Yet, despite the challenges, Oviedo finds meaning in the work, coming full circle from a kid calling the cops on Casino Road to the officer now responding.

“I get to go to work, put on this uniform and go help people,” he said.

Aspen Anderson: 425-339-3192; aspen.anderson@heraldnet.com; X: @aspenwanderson.