Officer Tiffany Coates awarded Olympia Police Officer of the Year

A member of the American Legion Post No. 3 presents Olympia Police Officer Tiffany Coates with the 2019 Officer of the Year Award.

Olympia Police Officer Tiffany Coates was awarded the department’s Officer of the Year award at a ceremony held Wednesday evening at Olympia City Hall. The award was presented by members of the American Legion Post No. 3, a local veteran’s association.

Also present for the ceremony (which is normally held at an Olympia City Council meeting) was Interim Police Chief Aaron Jelcick, several of Officer Coates’ patrol partners, her patrol Sergeants, and friends and family. The award was for the year of 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the presentation of the award.

Officer Coates graduated from the Washington Criminal Justice Training Academy in June 2017. She first worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Skamania County before being hired as a lateral officer at the Olympia Police Department.

At the Academy, Officer Coates received the prestigious “Patrol Partner” award. This award is voted on by the academy class, with recruits voting for who they would most like to have as back-up on any given patrol call.

Interim Police Chief Aaron Jelcick commended her at Wednesday’s ceremony, saying in part “The Olympia Police Department is fortunate to have Officer Coates with us”.