07/14/2026
PROMOTIONS and ADDITIONS!
Last night at the Hoquiam City Council meeting, Mayor Winkelman gave the Oath of Office to Hoquiam's new police chief, Jeff Salstrom, promoted Jerad Spaur from sergeant to lieutenant, and swore in new Police Services Officer Shawn Ball.
Chief Salstrom has been with the Hoquiam Police Department for over 25 years and has nearly 28 years of law enforcement experience. During his career, Chief Salstrom has served as a patrol officer, canine handler with his partner, K-9 Enno, field training officer, special response team member, a trainer in active shooter response, fi****ms and defensive tactics, amongst other things. He was promoted to sergeant is 2008 and lieutenant in 2022. As a lieutenant, Chief Salstrom held both the patrol and administrative lieutenant positions. He is a graduate of the Northwest Law Enforcement Command College and has received the Trilogy Award from the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development Association for completing their courses in supervisory, command, and executive leadership.
Jerad Spaur was promoted from the position of sergeant to that of lieutenant. Lt. Spaur started his career with the Hoquiam Police Department is 2013 as a Police Services Officer. In 2015 he was hired as a patrol officer with the department. He was selected as a field training officer and it was quickly obvious that he was excellent at developing and mentoring new employees. In 2020 Lt. Spaur was paired with his canine partner, K-9 Niko, where they became very successful at finding narcotics. In 2022 he was promoted to sergeant, and in 2025, became the detective sergeant. Lt. Spaur was instrumental in the recent Murder 1st Degree conviction of Steven Smith for the murder of Bryce Bitar. Lt. Spaur completed the National Staff and Command College's challenging "Emerging Leader" certification and will continue his education in leadership and command. Lt. Spaur will be the Commander of Administrative Services and will oversee the investigations unit, Hoquiam City Jail, and the police records specialists.
Police Services Officer Shawn Ball is a veteran of the Unites States Navy where he served deployments in the middle east as a corpsman during the height of the Global War on Terror. He has worked as a detention officer for a juvenile facility and as a 911 dispatcher. PSO Ball was hired by the Hoquiam Police Department in January of this year. He attended the Washington State Corrections Officer Academy and recently completed his field training and education program. PSO Ball was released to solo duties last month and has excelled in the position of Police Services Officer. It has been noted that he is very patient and calm. We look forward to watching his career progression!
And finally, the most exciting addition to the Hoquiam Police Department, K-9 Honey! Honey is a 3-year-old yellow lab trained in narcotics detection. Officer Juan Martinez has been selected as the next department canine handler. While Honey is already trained, they must undergo a minimum of 200 hours of additional training as canine team in order to take the certification test. Officer Martinez and Honey will begin their training later this month. Hopefully Honey can teach Officer Martinez a thing or two! We can't wait for them to hit the streets!
