Lights & Sirens

TULALIP — Two years after retiring from the post, Jay Goss is expected to resume his duties as Tulalip Tribal Police chief starting Sept. 1.
Goss’ original tenure as chief of the Tulalip Tribal Police Department lasted from 2001-2007, and Tulalip Tribes Chair Mel Sheldon reported that Goss, who “left our department under really good terms,” signed a three-year contract with the Tribal government after they’d called him.
Goss’ more-than-35-year career in law enforcement has included 20 years as a special agent for the Department of Interior’s Federal Law Enforcement Agency, as well as stints as a police academy instructor for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a detective for the Mercer Island Police Department, a military police officer for the U.S. Army, a police captain for the Quinault Tribe and a police chief for the Colville Tribe. During his time as the police chief for the Tulalip Tribes, he saw their police department grow from eight to 25 officers, and created an Explorer Scout program for young people interested in law enforcement.
Goss also worked with state Rep. John McCoy to pass legislation requiring tribal police officers to be state certified, and requiring tribes to obtain liability insurance and waive sovereign nation immunity if their police departments are sued or their officers are accused of misconduct. Scott Smith, the Tulalip Tribal Police chief from early in 2008 until he stepped down from his post July 10 of this year, worked with Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick to ensure that Tulalip Tribal Police officers met all of the same qualifications required for Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies.
“Jay Goss returns to the Tulalip force as the Tribes face new challenges from Tribal population growth and an expanding economic base,” Sheldon said. “He will oversee the expansion of community-based policing programs to include growth in patrol services and dispatch, implementing drug task force initiatives, and implementing new processes and partnerships in criminal investigation, fish and wildlife enforcement, and emergency management.”
The Tulalip Police Department provides police patrol services for the 22,000-acre Tulalip Reservation and Quil Ceda Village, and enforces fish and wildlife regulations in the Tribes’ usual and accustomed fishing and game management areas throughout Puget Sound. The department also provides emergency management services in cooperation with the state and other tribes, and supports Tribal Court with transport and bailiff services.
For the story from The Marysville Globe about Smith’s resignation, click here.