About Jose Marenco

Chief Marenco began his police career with the Snoqualmie Police Department where he served for two years as a patrol officer.  In January 2023, he was appointed as the Patrol Operations Division Chief since and in September 2024, he was appointed as the Criminal Investigations Chief.

Jose’s prior assignment was the Chief of the Metro Transit Police, a contract for KCSO. This assignment started in October 2020. He led the Metro Transit Police to provide public safety services to the largest transit agency in the state as well as the seventh largest in the country. This division consisted of 82 full-time positions with 79 commissioned staff as well as three non-commissioned support staff. During his tenure he led the organization through significant changes in police practices towards a more supportive and inclusive approach aimed at improving public safety for everyone. He also led the King County Sheriff’s Office in initiatives that supported those experiencing homelessness, were in mental crisis, and those that are most vulnerable or do not have a voice. All of his solutions were collaborative and inclusive of several organizations that focused on support and leaving enforcement as a last resort.

Prior to his assignment at Metro Transit, Jose worked patrol assignments at Precincts 2 and 4, Sammamish, and Woodinville. He was a detective in the Street Crimes Unit, Neighborhood Drug Enforcement Team, and the Criminal Investigations Unit. As a sergeant, he was initially assigned to Precinct 4 before moving to the Court Protection Unit and then to Woodinville operations. Jose then returned to investigations where he was assigned to the Special Assault Unit and later the Internal Investigations Unit. He promoted to Captain in 2017 and was assigned to Metro Transit Police as the administrative captain. Jose was the Criminal Investigations Division Commander before promoting to Major.

Jose is a compassionate and collaborative leader who leads with deep respect for others, a value that he says has been instilled in him by his parents. This compassion has shaped his career and helped him be successful in his many roles in law enforcement.

Jose has been married to his wife for 25 years and they have four children. He is passionate about sports and has been a volunteer and coach for youth baseball and wrestling since 2002. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time in the outdoors, hiking with his family, and fly fishing. His family provides him with his greatest inspiration to contribute to the community and make it safer for everyone.

Jose has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Washington.