MATTAWA — Officers with the Mattawa Police Department posted a message to MPD Chief Robert Salinas on the department’s social media Wednesday. 

“Thank you for your service, dedication and friendship,” it said. “Time will pass, but your memory will live forever. Rest easy, Chief Robert Salinas.

“Your shift is over. We have the watch.”

Salinas passed away Tuesday after being hospitalized Monday.

Clayton Buck said he and Salinas had conversations about their families, about basketball and about leadership, Salinas in his role as MPD chief and Buck as a leader of the Wanapum and Wahluke High School basketball coach. Salinas had a son playing college basketball, and Buck has some players heading that way, so Salinas had valuable experience to share, Buck said. 

The things they talked about stuck with him, Buck said, and he liked Salinas’ philosophy.

“Stay humble and keep moving forward,” Buck said.

He’ll miss those conversations, Buck said. 

Mattawa city officials expressed their condolences to Salinas’ family in a statement released Thursday, and said his death had come as a shock.

"Chief Salinas came highly recommended from Granger Chief (Estevan) Araguz and brought a fresh perspective to the department when he began his tenure as chief," the statement said. "Chief Salinas worked hard to develop the department and hired two new officers during his short tenure. With his sense of humor and ready smile, he earned the love and support of his staff and the community. He will be missed.

"We send our love and support to his family," the statement said. 

The Soap Lake Police Department paid tribute to Salinas in a written statement.

“Thank you for your dedication and service to your community, Chief Salinas,” it said.

Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete said it was tough news.

“When I received word of Chief Salinas’ sudden illness and then passing, a wave of sadness passed over me. I was stunned because he was so young to have suffered such a sudden, unexpected and severe medical emergency,” Kriete said in a written statement.

Wahluke School District Superintendent Andy Harlow said he and Salinas were talking about the WSD school resource officer program as recently as Jan. 11.

“We were texting each other Friday night during the (WHS) boys basketball game,” Harlow wrote. 

“Words absolutely can’t even begin to describe the loss to his family and Mattawa PD officers,” Harlow wrote. “It’s devastating.” 

Kriete paid tribute to the work Salinas was doing in Mattawa. 

“Chief Salinas had been doing a great job leading the Mattawa Police Department and serving the citizens of Mattawa,” Kriete wrote. “His leadership was outstanding, the caring he had for his officers was unsurpassed, and the pride of duty he had for being a police chief made him a cop’s cop.”

Salinas was hired as MPD chief in April 2022. At the time he said it was important for the chief to connect with and be seen in the community.

“One thing I can offer is transparency, being as transparent as possible,” he said at the time. 

To that end, the department sponsored the National Night Out in Mattawa for the last two years, and MPD officers, including Salinas, helped children frost cookies at the Winter Festival celebration last month. He sponsored periodic meetings with the community he called Coffee with the Chief. 

Salinas was hired as the chief in Mattawa after working as a sergeant for the Granger Police Department. He became a police officer in 1999, spending about 10 years with the Toppenish Police Department, then about seven years with the Ellensburg Police Department. He joined the Granger PD in 2019.

When he was hired as chief, Salinas said the motivation for most law enforcement officers is to help people, and that was part of his motivation, too. But he also liked the fact every day on the job was different. 

“You get to meet new people, and you’re able to provide a service to them when they’re not always at their best,” Salinas said. “My idea of policing is education. I think those are perfect opportunities when we can educate people and we don’t always have to rely on enforcement. There comes a time when enforcement is needed. But there’s also that area where we can operate in and educate people.”

The funeral service for Salinas is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 21 at Granger High School, 315 Mentzer Ave. 

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Robert Salinas helps a child frost cookies at the Winter Festival in December.
 COURTESY PHOTO/CITY OF MATTAWA   

    Mattawa Police Chief Robert Salinas talks with a resident during the first National Night Out in Mattawa in August 2022.