Over the past year, Hoquiam Police Sgt. Joe Strong oversaw the massive Green Jade illegal marijuana-growing operation bust – one of the largest ever in the entire country – got a murderer to confess and lead him to the evidence she had dumped, and concluded a three year, multi-county pill investigation that turned up a significant amount of cocaine, pills and cash.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

He has earned the respect of his peers in Hoquiam and with the Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force, and now has earned The Daily World’s 2018 Police Officer of the Year award.

The newspaper presents the award each year in honor of Hoquiam Police officer Donald Burke, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1980. The award will be presented to Strong at the annual Citizen of the Year Banquet, held May 17 at the Aberdeen Elks Club.

Tenacious is a word used by many to describe Strong.

“Joe is a 10-month-old terrier pup,” said Undersheriff Dave Pimental, who supervises the Drug Task Force. “Full of energy.”

Strong is a seasoned investigator with a flair for getting suspects to spill the beans.

“I just follow the golden rule,” he said. “Treat everyone with respect. If you do that, you get respect back.”

His interrogation skills were put in the spotlight when he investigated the murder of 95-year-old Hoquiam man Robert Harmon, a World War II veteran found beaten and stabbed to death in his home last July. The grisly, complicated crime scene was processed and a suspect, Kirsten Alice O’Hara, 30, a neighbor, was identified. During the interrogation, Strong and another detective from the Sheriff’s Office were able to get a full confession and O’Hara led investigators to the murder weapon and other evidence she had thrown in the Wishkah River. She later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison.

Sgt. Jeff Salstrom with the Hoquiam Police said, “Joe is probably one of the most conscientious people I know. I know if things go sideways it bugs him and he makes sure to make it right.”

Strong’s work has far-reaching impacts, not just for the task force and Hoquiam, but nationwide. Since the Green Jade operation, other task forces from around the country, including Denver and Sacramento, have contacted Pimentel’s team to get advice on how to operate large-scale drug busts like the three-county raids that took place in November.

And that’s impressive for the smallest task force in the state.

“Joe has been an asset for every law enforcement agency on the Harbor,” said Pimentel. “We’re lucky to have him.”

Large cases involving murder, drugs and other serious crimes put a great deal of pressure on investigators due to their high profiles. Strong lives for those cases.

“When tragedy occurs in Grays Harbor County the victims have suffered a brutal crime,” said Strong. “Not everyone is jumping up and down to handle those cases because they are difficult.” He said it’s those cases that motivate him the most.

“Whenever there’s a big case, he’s always one of the first called,” said Hoquiam Police officer Jarrod Figg. “He’s such a great detective.”

The Green Jade operation was massive and Strong was at the helm then and remains there now as case after case, both criminal and civil, slowly moves through the system. The case involved 240-plus agents and some civilians when the raids went down Nov. 28. More than 50 arrests were made at numerous locations in three counties, the vast majority in Grays Harbor County, mostly Chinese nationals that investigators believe were operating illegal marijuana growing facilities to feed the lucrative East Coast black market. The initial day’s raid yielded an estimated $80 million in marijuana and more than $400,000 in cash and gold.

An operation as large as that involves piles of paperwork.

“Right now I think we’ve forwarded in excess of 19,000 pages to the prosecutor’s office,” said Strong. “Stack all that together and it stands about 8 and a half feet tall.”

The operation had the small task force burning the candle at both ends, working a lot of overtime between securing the warrants, making the arrests and going through the piles of evidence collected. Fellow task force members said that to keep his team going, Strong would cook for the team. On several occasions they could smell frying eggs and other dishes wafting by.

Strong was six months old when his dad, also a police officer, accepted a job in Hoquiam and moved the family from Montana to the coast.

“Dad, unfortunately, was hit in the head with nunchucks (while responding to a bar fight) in 1978 and had to medically retire,” said Strong. “Then mom worked for the Ocean Shores department in dispatch. So I’ve always been around it and figured it was my destiny.”

He started fresh out of North Beach High School at age 19 as a reserve officer in Ocean Shores. Soon he was snatched up by Hoquiam, where he worked from street patrol to general investigations to, in 2012, the rank of sergeant. He is in his second tour with the Drug Task Force and relishes the opportunity to work with the team.

As for the future?

“It’s tough to focus five years down the road. The task force is the best job in the county,” said Strong.

Everyone associated with Strong agrees, he’s ultra-competitive in everything he does.

“He’s the guy that always has to have the longest drive, throw the ball the farthest,” said Pimental. Fellow Drug Task Force members said that also pertains to taking the biggest buck or biggest fish, and Strong isn’t shy about letting you know about it.

“He can be self-deprecating, and sometimes he comes across as arrogant, but he doesn’t mean it,” said Salstrom. “He’s not offended if you bust his chops.” Figg said he and Strong go hiking and on fishing trips often. “He’s funny, very laid back,” said Figg.

Strong has had many mentors throughout his career.

Former Ocean Shores Police Chief Mike Styner, who won this award just last year, was one of his first. “He showed me the ropes, taught me the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law,” said Strong.

Dallas Hensley, who himself won this award in 1993, was a mentor in Hoquiam. “He was the supervisor of the task force and from the start he turned me toward drug cases,” said Strong.

Pimental “taught me how to talk to people” and has been “instrumental” in his own growth as an investigator, added Strong.