Beat Story

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International relations are routine in a county like Whatcom, and policing it takes teamwork.

With four drivable border crossings to and from Canada in Whatcom alone – cooperation between state, local, and federal law enforcement is important to keeping the community safe.

Watching over a border county is a tough task for one outfit to do alone. Flanked by Cascades and the Pacific Ocean, Whatcom is a geographic choke point for international travel in northwest Washington. Last year over 13 million people crossed Whatcom County ports of entry, according to the United States Department of Transportation.

That’s why law enforcement like Washington State Patrol and Bellingham Police Department work regularly with Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection. Together they share information, train jointly, and plan for potential emergencies.

They also work day-to-day business together. One agency may be the first to an incident typically handled by another. State Patrol even helps Customs with port runners, or people who drive through border checkpoints without stopping, according to Trooper Brandon Lee.

Border Patrol, which covers 252 miles of land in Washington state alone, frequently swaps information with several state agencies.

“Since 9/11, a lot of things have changed in the way law enforcement officers do business,” said Chief Border Patrol Agent Dan Harris. “What we found in 9/11 is that I might hold that piece of the puzzle that could save lives or prevent something from happening, or another agency might hold that piece.”

The Bellingham Police Department is one of those agencies. Local police maintain a good relationship with Border Patrol, according to Lieutenant Robert Vander Yacht.

“If we knew that someone was leaving Bellingham and going to the Canadian border and they were really dangerous or they were armed and making threats to hurt somebody, we wouldn’t want to just sit back and go ‘Wow! I’m glad they’re out of Bellingham!’ and not tell anybody about it,” said Vander Yacht.

Hands-on training is another major piece of collaboration. Border Patrol also works with local police on how to respond to shooters in schools and malls. After the Bellis Fair Mall closes, they sometimes conduct drills with Bellingham Police.

Emergency preparation is the largest aspect of federal and state cooperation. Almost every agency has a plan in the case of problems from school shootings to natural disasters. Training, information, and preparedness all come together when it comes to emergencies.

They think of everything, and often together.

Customs and Border Protection keeps a Continuancy of Operations (COOP) document on file in case of serious disasters. Washington State Patrol, Whatcom County Sheriff Department, and the Whatcom County Department of Emergency are all listed as potential emergency contacts. They also have the contact information of Lynden, Sumas, and Ferndale police departments.

In 2008, Vander Yacht worked helped to prepare for the 2010 Olympics. Though two years ahead of time,  several state and federal agencies got together and asked questions, such as how to keep the roads open and what to do with enormous amount of people anticipated to be staying in Whatcom County.

At the time, Vander Yacht was the commander of the bomb squad. He did a “tremendous” amount of work training with Customs agents at all border crossings, providing classes on explosives recognition and response plans.

When they moved onto drills called full scale exercises, Western theater students were used as practice patients. Some played dead, others acted out losing limbs and other traumatic injuries as law enforcement practiced on how to take care of them in the event of an emergency.

Thankfully, nothing like that ever happened at the 2010 Olympics. Hopefully, events like that never really happen, said Vander Yacht. Regardless, you can’t just cross your fingers. State and federal agencies often get together to come up with “what if” scenarios so they know how to handle them – in case “if” becomes a reality.

“If you think there’s six people sitting in a room, they all have ‘X’ amount of knowledge. And they all have ‘X’ amount of information from their perspective,” said Vander Yacht. “When we pool that all together it’s really powerful.”