Steve Makar retires from Airway Heights Police Department

The Airway Heights Police Department had a recent shift in its personnel when code enforcement officer Steve Makar retired April 27.

Makar, born and raised in New York, became a police officer for the city's police department in the 1970s.

"It's something I've always wanted to do since I was a little kid," Makar said. "I had an uncle who was a captain of the police department."

After the department went through layoffs, the union helped officers - including Makar - find jobs in different agencies throughout the country. Makar moved to Arlington, Texas, where he worked for the city's police department for several years.

During the Iranian Crisis in the 1980s, Makar put aside his law enforcement career and joined the Air Force, where he spent 20 years and retired as a major. After being stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Makar went back to law enforcement and joined the Spokane County Sheriff's Office.

In 2003 he joined the Airway Heights Police Department as a reserve officer. Two years later he became fully commissioned in animal and property control.

"Steve (Makar) dove in with both hands into the code enforcement officer position," City Manager Albert Tripp said during an April 27 presentation that honored Makar. "The service he has provided to the city over the years is second to none. He will be sorely missed."

Makar learned that code enforcement was similar in nature to being on patrol, it allows officers to interact with a more broad spectrum of residents, as well as learn the different aspects of the community.

"You deal with the little things and the residents don't understand violations," Makar said. "Your goal is to help raise awareness of these violations and keep the city nice and productive for all citizens and businesses. It's more about community relations rather than just going on patrol and doing police work."

Although code enforcement is different from being a regular police officer, Makar has encountered the criminal aspect in Airway Heights, which he said is not much different than what he's seen in New York or in Texas.

"The criminal aspect is faceless, regardless of location," Makar said. "Domestic violence is the same across the board. There's more of it in New York because there's a bigger population. Here there are less people but also there are less officers on duty. However, you also meet the people in the community."

Makar said his decision to retire was mostly because of age and he felt it was time to pass the torch to a younger individual - that being Officer Curtis Tucker, who Makar said has a solid background in law enforcement.

"He's a very good fit to be a code enforcement officer and a police officer in the same fashion," Makar said. "He jumped into the job with both feet and quickly picked up on code enforcement. I'm doing the right thing by passing the torch to him, not only for the department but also for the community."

Airway Heights Police Chief Lee Bennett said Makar has had a successful career in law enforcement and wished him the best in the future.

"He's done an outstanding job with this department," Bennett said.

The thing Makar will miss the most about being a police officer is being able to help people.

"One thing about law enforcement that's different than other service profession is that you are in a position to help others," Makar said.

As for his retirement plans, Makar and his wife purchased a house in Everett, Wash., which allows them to spend time sailing.

"We plan on spending quite a bit of time in the water and plan to travel to Alaska," Makar said.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.