Lakewood Police Chief Patrick Smith has been placed on administrative leave while the city reviews votes of no confidence and multiple investigative reports concerning his leadership, city officials confirmed this week. Acting Chief David Claridge, who joined the department in July after previously serving as assistant chief at the Fife Police Department, has stepped in to lead the roughly 100-officer force during the review.
The move follows months of escalating tension between Smith and the department's rank and file. As reported by The News Tribune, both the Lakewood Police Management Guild and the Lakewood Police Independent Guild voted in December 2025 to endorse no-confidence votes against Smith, and a civilian employees union joined them in January in formally calling for his removal. A city spokesperson confirmed Smith's administrative leave, and City Manager Doug Russell — who is responsible for the decision — said it would be inappropriate to discuss personnel matters beyond the city's initial statement.
Union Letters Detail Sweeping Complaints
Dan Thenell listed 10 reasons for the guilds' loss of confidence in letters sent to the city council and city attorney, according to the same report. The unions alleged that Smith routinely isolated himself from daily operations, failed to maintain regular communication with command staff, officers and support staff, and left staffing levels to shrink without a contingency plan for departing officers. They said his alleged communication failures led to confusion and an erosion of trust throughout the department.
Much of the union frustration centers on the departure of former Assistant Chief John Unfred, who was placed on administrative leave by Smith in March 2025 and became subject to a professional-standards investigation. The unions said Unfred's removal happened without explanation or transition planning, creating instability in the command structure and undermining confidence in executive decision-making. Smith has defended his authority to remove Unfred and denied the broader allegations, characterizing them as personal attacks while pointing to falling crime rates as evidence of effective leadership.
A $420,998 Settlement and Questions Over Transparency
Lakewood ultimately approved a settlement agreement with Unfred amounting to $420,998. Under the August 2025 agreement, first detailed by KIRO 7, the city agreed to pay Unfred and rescind the internal investigation into him provided he retired by March 31, 2026, and released all claims against the city. Unfred had been on administrative leave for four and a half months without a completed investigation at the time.
Lakewood Mayor Jason Whalen publicly acknowledged community frustration over the lack of public disclosure surrounding Unfred's investigation, according to that outlet's reporting, noting the settlement arose from unfiled pending litigation that had been discussed in executive sessions. The city council had authorized then-interim City Manager Tho Kraus to execute the agreement.
A Familiar Pattern From Birmingham
Smith was hired as Lakewood police chief in 2023 after 28 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, where he began his career in 1990 after serving in the Marine Corps and rose to the rank of commander. He earned $216,696 in pay in 2025, and before Lakewood he served as police chief in Birmingham, Alabama, starting in June 2018.
His Lakewood ordeal echoes an earlier chapter of his career. Smith resigned as Birmingham police chief in February 2022, citing personal matters, roughly seven months after Fraternal Order of Police lodge leaders in Birmingham issued a no-confidence vote against him, citing increasing crime and violence against police officers, as reported by AP News. That vote came in 2021, amid rising violent crime in the Alabama city.
Crime Numbers Complicate the Picture
Smith has repeatedly pointed to Lakewood's crime statistics to defend his tenure. The city recorded no homicides in 2025 — a milestone Hoodline detailed in coverage of Lakewood's historic year — and has logged just one suspected homicide and no fatal shootings so far in 2026. In April, Smith presented first-quarter crime figures to the city council showing overall decreases in property and personal crimes compared with 2024 and 2025, according to Citizen Portal.
Still, the department has faced other serious incidents this year. Two Lakewood parents were charged with murder in March in the death of their 7-week-old child. And in 2025, a shooting at Harry Todd Park left seven people injured, an incident referenced in Hoodline's earlier reporting on the department's crime trends.
Legal and Operational Pressures Mount
The department also faces active litigation tied to its pursuit policies. A civil lawsuit filed in January named Lakewood, Smith, and two officers as defendants following a fatal pursuit-related crash, alleging failure to train officers and noting that nine officers lacked state-required pursuit certification, according to reporting cited by the Spokesman-Review. The collision reportedly occurred nearly five hours after an armed robbery.
The department's 2024 annual report had previously recorded 121 uses of force, 91 vehicle pursuits, and seven sustained internal misconduct complaints out of seven total allegations logged that year, alongside a 67 percent drop in stolen vehicles the department attributed to Flock camera technology, per Citizen Portal. Lakewood, a city of more than 60,000 residents, operates its police department on a budget that reached $27.1 million in 2024.
For now, Smith remains on leave while the city sorts through the competing narratives — a chief citing historic crime declines against unions describing a command structure they say has eroded from within. Smith declined to comment on the city's statement announcing his leave, and Russell has offered no timeline for when the review will conclude.
