Former Bellevue Police Chief Jim Montgomery will come out of retirement to replace Chief Linda Pillo following her own retirement from the city next week following a 35-year career in law enforcement.

Montgomery served as police chief here for 10 years, retiring in 2007. Pillo, who became Bellevue’s first female police chief when she succeeded Montgomery in 2008, will be honored for her 28 years with the department from 3-4 p.m. Tuesday, April 15 at City Hall.

In his 43 years in law enforcement, Montgomery previously served seven years as King County sheriff and five years as police chief in Boise. He oversaw completion of the Bellevue’s state-of-the-art police station during City Hall construction.

According to an internal city memo sent by City Manager Brad Miyake to staff last Friday, April 4, Montgomery, 70, will assume the role of interim police chief for 6-9 months while a nationwide search for a permanent chief continues. He will rejoin the ranks of the Bellevue Police Department once he has completed required examinations to be reinstated as a peace officer in the state of Washington.

“Chief Montgomery brings two critical things to this assignment – stability and experience,” states Miyake. “He knows our community, having served as the city’s police chief from 1997 to 2007. Chief Montgomery is looking forward to coming back to Bellevue to lead our top-notch police department.

“It’s been nearly seven years since he was at the helm of Bellevue Police Department, and he will no doubt rely heavily on the department’s two deputy chiefs to run the day to day operations. I do expect that he will look at the current and future needs of the department through a different lens. This fresh perspective will be invaluable to the recruitment and assessment processes.”