09/14/2026
This time with a photo that includes one more of the vehicles from last Saturday's Cops, Cars & Cruisers show, here's another installment of Meet The Members Monday, our ongoing feature about the people who are members of your Liberty Lake city staff. Responding this time in the Q&A: PATROL LT. MARK HOLTHAUS of the Liberty Lake Police Department:
Q: What are your job duties?
A: "I wear many hats. I oversee patrol operations, training, and some budgetary items. I'm also in charge of our Blue Bridge card program, which is funded by community donations. Debit cards are given to officers to assist others in bad situations who may need temporary financial assistance -- anything such as a flat tire, gas, or room at a hotel from a bad domestic situation. Our school resource officer also reports to me directly, as I built that program for the Liberty Lake Police Department in connection with the Central Valley School District."
Q: What prepared you for this job?
A: "I began my trek after high school by joining the U.S. Army as an M.P., performing similar roles to that of civilian law enforcement. Years later, I was hired as a trooper for the Washington State Patrol, where I was assigned to the Seattle and Tacoma freeways. I later lateralled to the Lakewood Police Department, where I experienced the best and worst of my career. Wanting to return "home" and raise our boys where we felt better suited, I came back to the area in March of 2017 when I was hired with the Liberty Lake P.D."
Q: What's something you like to do in your off time?
A: "We enjoy 'glamping' in our fifth wheel, some golfing and usually one 'fancy' trip per year, generally a cruise. We went to Alaska this year, and next year we're sailing out of Galveston, Texas, for a western Caribbean cruise."
Q: What's the most memorable trip you've taken?
A: "Military trips aside, my favorite and most memorable vacation was when we took our family to Dollywood in Tennessee. We flew into Nashville, drove east across the state, spent some time in Dollywood and Pigeon Forge, and even drove to the Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina, to tour an amazing mansion owned by the Rockefeller family. Even got to tour the Tennessee Highway Patrol Academy with an old Army friend who's now a trooper there."
Q: What's your favorite movie and your favorite TV show?
A: "So many to choose from! I do like my scary movies, such as 'The Shining' or the OG 'Halloween.' As for TV shows, you can't beat 'Seinfeld' -- a show about nothing!"
Q: What's one of the most memorable accomplishments you've had at work here?
A: "Building our School Resource Officer program, by far. Former chief Brian Asmus placed his trust in me to build the program, partially due to my own two boys attending the schools, and my living in the city and having attended CVSD schools myself. I started when Selkirk Middle School first opened and spent two years there while Ridgeline High School was being built. The opinions that were changed for the better and relationships that were made at not only those two schools but our two grade schools, as well, was priceless."
