MOSES LAKE — Adorning a wall behind Moses Lake Police Department Chief Dave Ruffin’s desk in his office is a quote that reads, “Leadership is not about the leader. It is about the growth, influence and positive change that a leader can bring about while working with others.” Ruffin’s career in law enforcement has been an exercise in different stages of leadership and now with his retirement looming, Ruffin says the positive change he was able to bring about while working with others during his career is what he is most proud of.

Ruffin, a Columbia Basin product and Moses Lake High School graduate, was like other 18-year-olds after he received his sought-after diploma. He left not knowing what in the world he wanted to do with the rest of his life he weighed the options of going to college or entering the working world. He eventually decided to enlist in the United States Army.

Ruffin’s first hands-on experience with law enforcement came while he was in the Army working with the military police. A career in law enforcement always appealed to Ruffin and his experience with the military police only fanned the flame and grew his desire to enter into the career field.

“I got out in 1982 and a funny thing happened. I had joined the Army Reserves when I got out of active duty and there was a couple of people in that reserve unit that I met and one was Felix Ramon, who later became the Grant County sheriff, and the other was Fred Haynes, who was a police officer with Moses Lake at the time and later became chief,” Ruffin recalls. “They really encouraged me to start applying for police jobs.”

Ruffin had taken police and sheriff’s office civil service exams while he was in the military, but at the age of 22 he just couldn't quite get over the hump and gain consideration for employment. Then stepped in Ruffin’s uncle, a reserve deputy with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, who contacted both the mayor of Soap Lake and the Soap Lake Police Department chief in hopes of getting his nephew a job.

“I got a call one day and they told me I had an interview for a police job. My uncle went down there with me to the interview and I still remember that interview. Soap Lake at the time never had anybody graduate from the police academy,” Ruffin remembers with a slight chuckle. “And lo and behold they hired me.”

Ruffin attended and subsequently graduated from the police academy. At the academy another friendship was formed as Ruffin met Jim Jenkins, who would go on to retire from the MLPD as a captain. Jenkins encouraged Ruffin to work to Moses Lake. The MLPD had a number of openings at the time and Ruffin officially began his career with the force in 1984.

Ruffin describes his ascension through the ranks of the MLPD in one word, “lucky.” He started off as a patrol officer and worked his way up and was promoted to patrol sergeant in 1987. Ruffin eventually moved over into a role as a detective sergeant, with his biggest case being the Frontier Middle School shooting in February of 1996 involving a 14-year-old student who shot and killed three people and injured another.

In 2004 the MLPD created the captain position on the force and Ruffin was eventually promoted to the position, becoming the first captain in the MLPD’s history. About nine years later the job as chief came calling and Ruffin applied and was eventually promoted to the position that will be his last with the MLPD as he hangs up his hat on Friday.

“When I applied for the job they asked me how long I would stay if I was promoted to chief and I told them between three and four years,” Ruffin explained. “And it’s been going on three and a half years now.”

What’s next for the career cop? At first Ruffin said he really didn’t have any concrete plans. Spending more time with his family and continuing to teach part-time at Big Bend Community College and do some substitute teaching with the Moses Lake School District were initially the only plans he had.

Those plans changed recently however, as the MLSD is trying to start a new criminal justice program at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center.

“I have been asked to be a part of that program. That program is scheduled to start this fall and I haven’t been officially hired, but I am scheduled to go through certification training this summer and the application phase is going on right now,” he said. “So it looks like right now if things progress I might have the opportunity to teach in that program, which is a great opportunity.”

Looking back on his career with the MLPD Ruffin cites his fellow officers, city employees and the unwavering support from the community aimed in his direction as the biggest reasons for his successful tenure. With a values based philosophy in the department and a supportive community, he says it would be extremely easy to stick around for a couple more years. But, when it comes down to it, he says, it’s time to step away.

“I really wouldn’t change my experience here for anything in the world. There is nothing I would have done differently. I was very, very fortunate to have worked with the people I have worked with for the last 34 years,” he said. “This community is just a very supportive community. When people ask me why I am leaving I often ask myself that same question. But you know, it’s just time.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.