At the Sept. 15 regular Auburn City Council meeting, Auburn Police Chief Mark Caillier continued the tradition of publicly recognizing promotions in the ranks of the APD, and the law enforcement officers’ dedication to their family and their profession.
On this occasion, the honors fell to newly-minted Patrol Commander Jason Blake and Sgt. Nate Fry.
Blake, a native of Riverside, California, moved with his family to the Enumclaw area as a youth. After graduating from Enumclaw High School, Blake earned his bachelor’s in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University.
Blake joined the APD in 2003, having worked eight years with the city of Enumclaw, first as a dispatcher, a reserve police officer, and finally as a full-time police officer, Caillier said.
After completing his field training, Blake began his career with the APD as a patrol officer. He has likewise been a field training officer, a member of the civil disturbance team, a hostage negotiator, and a member of the department’s peer support team.
Blake has also been a detective with the APD’s property and major crimes team and served as an officer for the community response team. Upon his promotion to sergeant in 2021, he was assigned to the patrol division where in addition to supervised a crew, he was a team leader for the hostage negotiation team, the crime scene response team, and the field training unit.
In his new role as a patrol commander, Blake will also oversee the K-9 unit, the civil disturbance unit, patrol tactics instructors and the respirator program.
“Not that we expect a lot, but we do,” Caillier said.
A native of Finley, Ohio, Fry attended Bowling Green University, and then went to work for the police department in Charleston, South Carolina, for 10 years. In 2017, he joined the APD as an officer, and throughout his career, he has served in a number of roles on the street, including as a bike officer, a neighborhood enforcement officer, and a field training officer helping to guide and support new recruits. He is also a certified course instructor for less lethal tools such as the pepper ball and taser, and is an emergency vehicle operations course instructor.
Caillier then applied the Oath of Honor to both new commanders who, with upraised right hands, repeated the following words after him:
“Today I pledge my commitment to the Auburn Police Department and the city of Auburn. On my honor I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I value leadership and I accept the tremendous responsibility that comes with that privilege.
“I will also demonstrate the courage to hold myself and others accountable. I will uphold the Constitution of the United State and the state of Washington as well as the mission, the guiding principles, and the history of the Auburn Police Department, to the best of my ability, so help me God.”
After that came the pinning of the badge.
“The tradition of badge-pinning is a significant one,” Caillier said. “It is one of the traditions where we visibly and clearly bring a loved one up to publicly demonstrate their support for their law enforcement officer. This support is essential as our officers can’t do this difficult job without strong support from family and friends.
“The badge itself represents the authority granted by our community to law enforcement officers. It is in the shape of a shield to protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Caillier concluded
Fry’s wife, Jessica, did the honors for him, while Blake’s wife, Jori, his daughter Morgan and grandson Wesley did the same for him.
