Often, when you think of your police, it’s the patrol officers who first come to mind. On duty every hour of every day, they are the first to respond in emergency situations. They provide for public safety through traffic law enforcement and by maintaining order in the community.
Many officers have special training and expertise in fields such as tactical response, traffic, and crowd control.
Metro SWAT
Sometimes, incidents in our city require the tactics and training of a SWAT team. Since Sumner is a small city, we partner with our neighboring cities in Metro SWAT. The team includes 21 tactical officers, five snipers and five negotiators, all drawn from officers in the agencies that participate, including Sumner.
Metro SWAT trains twice each month plus additional training for snipers and week-long sessions plus a full-scale evaluated exercise once a year. Although Sumner only requires SWAT on a few isolated incidents, we have highly trained, technical staff available when those incidents arise.
Traffic Team
Sumner takes speeding seriously. We also recognize that traffic safety is much more than just writing speeding tickets. Traffic safety is about engineering, education and enforcement. Through the Traffic Team, Sumner Police officers work with other departments, such as Public Works, to fully address traffic issues.
The Traffic Team reviews streets where either citizens have complained about speeding or city employees have noticed a problem. Together, the employees from various departments look into the nature of the potential problem and talk about what various methods within engineering, enforcement and education could help.
Truck Enforcement
A lot of industry and business is conducted within Sumner that brings large trucks in and through our city. Sumner has a truck route system that requires trucks to use particular streets when traveling through town. Truck routes are, in general, a win for everyone:
- Citizens get less traffic and noise on residential streets.
- The impact of truck traffic on our roads is confined to specific areas (one truck equals the wear and tear of 80 cars).
- Truck drivers know which streets can accommodate turning trucks.
Trucks still must use other streets to make deliveries and pick-ups so that citizens get the things we need like milk, gas, and packages. They should use the shortest route possible from the truck route to their destination. When traveling across town, trucks need to stay on the designated routes or face a civil infraction with a maximum penalty of $250.
Sumner Police routinely monitor truck traffic and also participate in Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Emphasis days when departments from other cities and Pierce County work together to check trucks in a city for truck route compliance and safety inspections.
Parking Enforcement
To balance the needs of all drivers, Sumner offers a variety of parking options ranging from 15-minute loading zones to 2-, 3- and even 8-hour parking areas in lots and on streets. The Community Service Officer helps the other officers make sure drivers respect these time limits as well as park correctly for the safety of pedestrians and other drivers.
To report an active parking issue (happening now), please call non-emergency dispatch at 253-287-4455 or toll-free 1-800-562-9800.
If you have more general questions, or wish to speak to someone regarding situations which are ongoing or generalized that do not necessarily require an immediate response, please call the police station directly at 253-863-6384.
Please click here to view the City’s parking web page.
In addition to standard parking rules, please remember the following:
- Obey the signs that indicate the time limit for parking at your location, whether on the street or in a lot.
- If there is a temporary sign posted for an event, be sure to note the time and dates for the temporary restrictions.
- Restricted Parking Zones (RPZ) offer limited parking time to visitors in residential areas while allowing residents with the proper RPZ permit to park longer. If you have moved into an RPZ area and don’t have the appropriate sticker, please call or visit the police department to inquire about RPZ parking passes.
- Do not park within the following areas:
- On a sidewalk or street planting strip.
- Within an intersection or designated crosswalk
- In front of a driveway or within five feet of the end of the curb leading to a drive
- Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant
- Within 20 feet of a designated crosswalk
- Within 30 feet of the approach to any flashing signal, stop sign, yield sign or traffic control signal
- Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station
- In any bus loading zone
- Within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing