Sheriff’s Office loss is Shoalwater Bay’s gain

March 13, 2019 1:30 am
COURTESY PACIFIC COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Lt. Jim Bergstrom, center, retired from the Pacific County Sheriffs Office Feb. 28. His long career in law enforcement has not come to an end; he has accepted the position of chief of the Shoalwater Bay Tribal Police. With him are Pacific County Undersheriff Ron Davis, left, and Sheriff Robin Souvenir.
COURTESY PACIFIC COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Lt. Jim Bergstrom, center, retired from the Pacific County Sheriffs Office Feb. 28. His long career in law enforcement has not come to an end; he has accepted the position of chief of the Shoalwater Bay Tribal Police. With him are Pacific County Undersheriff Ron Davis, left, and Sheriff Robin Souvenir.

After decades of service in law enforcement, Pacific County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jim Bergstrom retired Feb. 28.

Well, kind of.

Bergstrom signed out of service for the last time as a Pacific County Deputy that afternoon, but he isn’t retiring from law enforcement. He has since accepted the chief of police position with the Shoalwater Bay Tribal Police Department, according to a Sheriff’s Office statement.

Bergstrom began his law enforcement career in 1979, when he graduated from the Military Police Academy and was stationed as a military police officer at Scofield Barracks in Hawaii.

In 1984, Bergstrom was hired as a police officer with the Shoalwater Bay Tribe. He attended the Federal Indian Police Academy in Arizona and graduated first in his class.

In 1988, he attended the Washington State Corrections Officer academy and worked at the Clallam Bay prison. That same year, he was hired by the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy.

According to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office, Bergstrom’s many duty assignments over the course of his career have included marine patrol, drug task force, marijuana eradication, mari­juana spotter, meth lab team, traffic safety, and high-profile investigations.

Bergstrom was promoted to patrol sergeant in 2009 and was responsible for supervising deputies. In 2011, he was promoted to patrol lieutenant and gained even more responsibility helping manage the day-to-day operations of the Sheriff’s Office.