Developing leaders

POST FALLS — Shannon Knight has always known her husband Pat to be humble.

Those feelings also were true on Tuesday night when Pat was sworn in by Mayor Ron Jacobson as Post Falls' next police chief, effective April 1.

"A lot of his friends and family told him that they want to come, but he tried telling them that it wasn't a big deal," Shannon said during the city council meeting.

Turns out Pat was joined by his wife; their daughters Emily, 21, and Berkeley, 14; his father; brothers; and several others.

"Just like with sports, he does the best he can when he does something," Shannon said. "He's done the same with his career, working his way to the top."

Knight was promoted to assistant chief last year after Chief Scot Haug announced his retirement. Haug's last day on the job will be on March 31 and Knight will take over on April 1.

Council member Alan Wolfe praised the police department for raising up leaders internally. That also occurred when Haug took over for the late Cliff Hayes as chief.

"It makes our jobs easier to find someone internally rather than having to find someone outside the community to do a great job," Wolfe said.

Knight credited his family for their support through the years.

"I can bounce things off of (Shannon) and the kids have known the stresses of law enforcement all of their lives," he said.

Knight said Haug and Hayes did a "great job of policing in the 21st Century."

"I see my job as continuing with that," he said.

Knight, 47, graduated from Coeur d'Alene High in 1989. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked for the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office's Marine Division for two months.

He was hired at Post Falls Police in 1994. He has held the positions of patrol officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and assistant chief.

Knight has also been a leader of the SWAT team since it started in 1998.

Knight said one of the challenges will be preparing the department for several retirements in the next five years.

Knight said he plans to retire in about five years, but he said he'll re-evaluate that closer to that time.

Other challenges include dealing with the heroin epidemic in the community, hiring emergency communications officers because the testing process has gotten more difficult, and keeping staffing levels at a rate to meet demand in services and the city's growth.

Haug, Post Falls' chief for the past nine years who has worked for the department all 33 years, of his law enforcement career, said he plans to work for the custom home builder Selkirk Construction owned by he and wife Debbie's two sons.

American Legion members presented Haug with a certificate of appreciation for working closely with the nonprofit on community efforts.