A key member of the Bellingham Police Department has retired after 37 years
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Deputy Chief Jason Monson was first hired in 1988 as a warrant office
- Monson led diverse roles from K-9 handler to detective and SWAT team member.
- As deputy chief, Monson managed hiring, 911 services and tech operations.
Deputy Chief Jason Monson of the Bellingham Police Department has retired from the department after 37 years of service.
“It is with deep respect and heartfelt gratitude that I celebrate the retirement of Deputy Chief Jason Monson,” said Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig in a statement from BPD. “He honorably served this community with dedication, integrity and inspirational leadership.”
Monson was first hired in November 1988 as a warrant officer and moved up to entry-level police officer in October 1990. He worked as a patrol officer for three years before being selected to be a K-9 Handler with a police service dog named Major, according to the BPD statement.
Monson and Major worked together until 2001, when Major retired, making them the longest serving K-9 team in BPD history at the time. During this time they arrested 235 people, the statement said.
After Major retired, Monson became a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) officer. He taught classes in the Bellingham School District for three years before returning to patrol duties until he was selected as a Master Patrol Officer, according to the statement.
As a master patrol officer, he trained 15 new officers, spent 500 hours of acting sergeant time and was the senior officer in charge of the field training program.
He was selected as a temporary detective in the Special Investigation Unit investigating street-level narcotics cases, vice and gang cases and other major crimes in 2008, the statement said.
Monson left the unit in 2009, when he was promoted to sergeant. After three years as a patrol team sergeant he became the Major Crimes Detective Sergeant in the Investigation Division of the BPD.
There he oversaw a team of nine detectives and three warrant officers. He was also the supervisor of the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Response Team (LEMART).
In January 2017 he moved to the supervisor position for the Administrative Services Group. In April he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the patrol division.
Less than a year later, in January 2018, he was selected as the lieutenant of the Office of Personal Responsibility, where he was solely responsible for hiring within the Bellingham Police Department. Over the next four years he hired more than 100 people for the department, according to the statement from BPD.
In February 2022 Monson was promoted to deputy chief, Services Division at BPD. He oversaw lieutenants with the Office of Personal Responsibility, the records manager, the deputy director of What-Comm 911 and information technology manager. He was also the director of What-Comm 911.
During his time with the Bellingham Police Department, Monson also served on the SWAT team for eight years.
.jpg)