by AMANDA WINTERS

Sequim Gazette

Three months into her new job with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Laticia Wells is ready to settle into Sequim life and solve some crimes.

 

“It’s been interesting to say the least,” Wells, 27, said of her first few months on the job as a deputy on the east end of Clallam County.

 

Through funding provided by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, the Sheriff’s Office hired Wells at the end of January and sent her to attend the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien. The academy, which lasts 5½ months, is academically and physically challenging, covering topics including traffic accident investigations, use of force, ethics, crisis management and criminal law.

 

“This is something I always wanted to do,” she said.

 

Following her graduation from the academy, Wells began three months of field training in the east county region. Each day is a combination of responding to calls and patrolling, she said.

 

Her patrol car GPS unit has been instrumental in helping her find her way around, she said, and she is still learning every day.

 

“They (the law enforcement academy) tried to prepare me as best they could but there’s nothing like real life,” she said. “Nothing is ever routine. Nothing is ever the same.”

 

Originally from the Tacoma area and a graduate of Central Washington University, Wells said she and her husband, Dylan Moye, a special education teacher at Helen Haller Elementary School, hope to spend a long time in Sequim.

 

“You can run into a neighbor at the store here,” she said, smiling.