But nowadays, he’s known as a code enforcement officer.

McLeod’s 30 years at the Marysville Police Department come in handy in his job.

“You never know if there’s a person around the corner, and he might have a gun,” McLeod said.

Problem is, McLeod doesn’t have a gun anymore, just pepper spray.

So when he checks empty houses for transients he often calls his former co-workers if he suspects a problem.

People aren’t always happy to see him. He usually wants people to clean up their messy yards or buy a license for their home business. Others get upset because he isn’t shutting down a drug house fast enough, for example.

One of those people is Ralph Wilson, president of the homeowner’s association at Rolling Greens Estates at 62nd off 100th. He has gathered about a dozen homeowners to form a committee to try to strengthen the association so it can take on code violators.

“Nobody is proactive,” he said. “Police are reactive, and code enforcement is inactive.”

He said he knows of homeowner’s associations that can levy big fines if residents don’t comply with bylaws. Those neighborhoods are nice.

“Look up the definition of slum,” he said. “That’s what my neighborhood will be if something’s not done.”

Wilson said he has had no problems getting other homeowners onboard.

“All I had to do was knock on doors,” he said. “I didn’t have one person not ask, ‘How can I help.'”

Wilson said they all thought they same way, “They just don’t feel empowered.”

He said he has been dealing with drug dealers in his neighborhood for years.

“People would come and go at all hours, stay there for five minutes, then leave,” Wilson said.

Jean Hageman, who lives in the same area as Wilson, said there are four drug houses in the development. Cmdr. Jeff Goldman of the Marysville Police Department said police will target that area and get swift results.

They did, making an arrest March 24.

Wilson added that code enforcement laws need to be more conclusive, and that McLeod might need some help.

McLeod didn’t disagree, saying Everett has five code enforcement officers, while he’s the only one here.

As for people getting upset with him, McLeod said it’s inevitable there will be confrontations, but “I pride myself in not getting violent, talking my way out of it.”

McLeod said he learned that skill working at a prison for two years.

“They are the best diffusers,” he said of correction officers. “They don’t have a choice.”

He said they are often teased as “wanna-be cops” by some police. But he knows of one he would “walk into a riot with.”

McLeod retired as a sergeant almost a year ago, took two weeks off, then started his new job. At about 60, police work was getting too tough for him.

“On TV cops are always the heroes. But you’re never the hero,” he said.

McLeod said he liked the adrenaline rush of kicking doors in, but not telling someone their kid had died in a car wreck.

He said he’s been told he should teach law enforcement, but he doesn’t think schools would like his approach.

“I’d try to talk them (students) out of it, but schools probably wouldn’t like that,” he said.

An advantage of being in town so long is McLeod knows what resources are available so he can get things done. He also knows what police can and can’t do.

“Why aren’t cops doing anything about that?” McLeod said he is often asked. So some of his job includes educating the public on code enforcement laws.

McLeod said he spends a lot of his time doing research. He responds to complaints by phone, email or staff. He does a site visit to see if there is a violation and takes photos.

Problems can start to develop when he tries to find out who the owner of a home or business is. With so many foreclosures in recent years, banks have been selling buildings in bundles. Ownership can change many times, and each one often isn’t reported to the county auditor, even though it’s a requirement.

Once the owner is found, a letter is sent, saying if the problem isn’t fixed there could be a $150 fine. The process is repeated before citations are issued because voluntary compliance is the goal.

McLeod said about 75 percent of people respond to “my friendly warning letter.” Of about 300 documented complaints since he started, only about 10 have gone to court.

“You have to work at ignoring me,” he said. “The worst of the worst are getting the message. If you give them an out they will take it. But if you back them into a corner they feel threatened” and fight it.

McLeod said he his trying to make his office more proactive. For example, if an elderly couple is confused or can’t afford to clean up a property, he can work with volunteers and city staff to help out.

“I like that part of my job – if I see a problem fix it,” he said.

Unfortunately, McLeod can’t do that as often as he would like. “There’s limitations to what we can do,” he said.

For example, the owner of a house that has fire damage on Shoultes Road lives in Florida. Nothing is being done to fix it. However, the city did take the step of getting it condemned by the fire marshal because it is dangerous and inhabitable. If transients are caught there they can be arrested.

Another problem is some things that “should be against the law,” are not, McLeod said. “You can have a mess, but you can’t have junk.”

The city can enforce its laws, but not on private roads. And drug houses can take years to get boarded up.

Squatters like to inhabit those homes. A man and woman were in one such house he went to recently. McLeod had picked up the front because of neighbor complaints, since he couldn’t find who the owner is because of so many bank exchanges. He also banged out the dented garage door so it could close.

Inside, he said the couple actually had swept up the place a bit. But there were holes in the sheetrock where copper tubing had been stolen. Graffiti-type writing had been written on walls. Part of the floor had been ripped up. Outside in back was even worse, with piles upon piles of trash and junk, signs of rodents and even human feces.

“There’s a lot of bureaucracy and red tape,” he said, adding people who want it cleaned up get frustrated by delays.

McLeod sympathizes with them. He asks himself, “Would I want to live across from that?”

 

 

Top 10 violations

1. Accumulation of trash in front of residence unless screened from view.

2. Discarded furniture, household items in front

3. Dead vegetation, hazardous trees

4. Graffiti

5. Abandoned or junk vehicles

6. Non-operational vehicles in front or vehicles on jacks, blocks, with flat tires

7. Vegetation exceeding 12 inches in height unless screened from view

8. Rodents

9. Parking on non-improved surface (grass)

10. Living in shed or garage or RV not in an approved RV park.