OTHELLO — Brent McFarlane has been appointed as the interim chief of the Othello Police Department. McFarlane has been working as assistant chief since late February.

Mayor Ken Johnson said McFarlane’s appointment will be in effect until city officials determine what they want to do.

“We’re still undecided as to the direction we want to take,” Johnson said.

McFarlane replaces Aaron Garza, who took over the job full-time in January. Garza was hired as the Othello city administrator in April and started his new job May 1.

McFarlane joined the OPD in 2014 after working as a corrections deputy and as an officer for a tribal law enforcement agency, Garza said during the March 9 Othello City Council meeting. He was promoted to OPD sergeant in 2016; he has worked as a field training officer and became a detective sergeant in 2021. Part of that job involved working on investigations of major crimes in the city. McFarlane also has been one of the leaders in the department’s efforts to investigate and combat human trafficking cases and gang activity.

Johnson said the mayor appoints the police chief, and he wants to see how the interim position works before he decides on a hiring procedure.

“We’ll see how that goes,” he said.

McFarlane will report to Garza, and Johnson said Garza’s opinion will be important in deciding how the city proceeds.