Hospital makes up nearly 20% of calls to marshal’s office

Of the 1,161 calls they responded to in 2025, 210 were to the WhidbeyHealth Medical Center.

By Allyson Ballard • February 13, 2026 1:30 am
(Photo by Allyson Ballard) Last month, Coupeville Town Council reviewed service call data for 2025 provided by the Marshal’s Office.
(Photo by Allyson Ballard) Last month, Coupeville Town Council reviewed service call data for 2025 provided by the Marshal’s Office.

Calls to the hospital are keeping law enforcement in Coupeville busy.

Of the 1,161 service calls the Coupeville Marshal’s Office responded to in 2025, 210 were to the WhidbeyHealth Medical Center, according to data presented to the town council last month.

The data organized each call received by the type of incident being reported. Requests for public assistance, reports of disorderly conduct, 911 hang-ups and trespassing complaints were the most frequent kinds of calls to the hospital last year, totaling 58, 55, 25 and 18 respectively.

Notably, there were three calls reporting sex offenses, four reporting physical assault, one reporting domestic violence and one reporting harassment.

During the meeting, Marshal Bo Miller expressed his desire for upgrades to hospital security which could ease demand on his small department.

Conor O’Brien, a hospital spokesperson, confirmed that Pacific Security has provided security at the hospital since 2017 and charges an hourly rate of less than $41.20 for their personnel when working on site. One guard is on duty from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays and all day on the weekends at the hospital.

Security personnel are unarmed, hands-off and used to “de-escalate and provide a barrier for staff safety” at the hospital, O’Brien explained; the marshal’s office is contacted “when disorderly conduct escalates to physical or actively combative conduct.” Overall, WhidbeyHealth is “pleased” with Pacific Security’s services.

Pacific Security could not be reached for this story.

According to their website, new officers receive their initial training “during an eight-hour orientation session” which includes de-escalation training. Clients can request optional Management of Aggressive Behavior training, a four-hour program teaching officers how to “recognize, reduce and manage anxious, aggressive and violent behavior.”

Miller spoke to his dissatisfaction with hospital security at the meeting.

“I would like to see them hire a more robust security system there,” he said. “Somebody that’s got more training than these guys. Nothing against (Pacific Security’s) guys, they always have a good reason to call us.”