After 32 years of service in Edmonds, Assistant Chief of Police Don Anderson plans to retire from the Edmonds Police Department in April 2021, the Edmonds Police Department announced.
An Edmonds native, Anderson was hired by the Edmonds Police Department on March 16, 1989 as a patrol officer after he graduated from Central Washington University with degrees in law and justice and political science.
During his career with the Edmonds PD he served in numerous roles, including patrol officer, plainclothes ProAct Officer, K9 officer, field training officer, firearms instructor, SWAT team officer, detective, patrol sergeant, assistant team leader and team leader of the South Snohomish County SWAT Team and professional standards sergeant. In 2014, he was promoted to assistant chief of police over the support services division.
Anderson is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Northwest Law Enforcement Executive Command College and the International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership in Police Organizations program. He holds Washington State Career Level Certifications at all three levels; Supervision, Middle Management and Executive.
“I was so fortunate to be able to spend my entire law enforcement career in the city of Edmonds, the city I love and grew up in,” Anderson said. “My service to this community has meant so much to me. I have made my retirement announcement well in advance, hoping to be able to be an available resource to others in the department as they prepare for the promotional opportunities that my departure will create.
“As I look back on my career I have had the honor of working alongside so many incredible officers here-incredible human beings,” he added. “This is an amazing police department staffed by highly skilled people and it’s been a privilege to know them and to work with them. As I prepare to retire I am proud to know that I leave this place as one of the most well-respected law enforcement agencies in the state, a department that is strong, transparent, accountable, inclusive and an example for other police departments in Washington.”
Thank you ACP Anderson for your dedication and service to our City. My wife lived here with her family when you joined the force, and now we live here with our children as you retire. Thank you for the legacy to which you contributed.
I particularly appreciate how you recognize that EPD is an example for other police departments in the state. Yesterday, Mayor Nelson said, “I want our department to be an example for other police departments in Washington.” Mission accomplished! I guess his work here is done.
Thank you, and best wishes in your future endeavors. A good time to retire.
Thank you for your service. Wishing you many healthy, happy years of retirement.
ACP Anderson, thanks so much for your service to our city. You have helped created one of the finest local police agencies in the region, if not the state, a career of leadership and service. Edmonds has been fortunate to have you. Best wishes to you Don, as you enjoy your well earned retirement.
ACP Anderson, thank you for your service to the Edmonds community.
Stay safe, stay healthy and enjoy your retirement.
Don, thank you very much for your 32 years of service and dedication to our community. Your service and contributions to making the EPD team one of the best around are acknowledged and greatly appreciated. Have a wonderful retirement and next chapter in your life.
You will love retirement…nothing bad about it. Keep busy and keep smiling. Thank you for being a part of, and in making our Police Department the great organization it is today. Congratulations!!
Thank you very much for your service. I’ll miss seeing you walk by our place on your daily walk. 32 years! You must have only been about 10 years old when you joined the EPD.
Don Anderson, I thank you for all your 32 years of dedication, hard work and accomplishments in the Edmonds police department. It is nice to hear that you were a K9 officer as well, a great asset in what you do on the force.
You have so very much to be proud of as you enter retirement, I think you may find having to get used to not going to work every day an eyeopener, one of new joyful discoveries!
I wish you the very best of health and happiness in the rewards of hard work, retirement!
Thank you,
Ingrid Wolsk
Assistant Chief Anderson, congratulations on your retirement, and thank you for serving the citizens on our community. Very best wishes for a long, healthy and enjoyable retirement.
Congratulations Don! Your friends at Faith Community Church are privileged to know you personally and to have had you as the ACP of our city. God’s best to you in the next stage of life!
I have had the pleasure of working with Assistant Chief Anderson for many years in his role as an accreditation manager and mentor for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. I have a special affinity for Edmonds because my mom and stepfather live there. The Edmonds Police Department has been an example of professional, community-based policing for decades. I am sure the Mayor and City Council are aware that their agency is state accredited and meets or exceeds all the standards set forth by the association. This includes rigorous use of force reviews and management reports, review of pursuits and internal affairs, and annual bias-based policing management reviews. Each of these reports are a public record and are available to city leadership. A citizen only needs to look at the records for themselves to form their own perceptions and opinions about the services they receive from their police department. AC Anderson will leave huge shoes to fill because he is one of the most professional, dedicated and trustworthy officers I have had the pleasure of knowing. EPD and the community will be suffering a great loss with the departure of AC Anderson and likely the departure of Assistant Chief Lawless, whom I’ve also worked with for many years and hold in the same high regard. It is certainly unfortunate some do not realize what we have lost until it is gone. JEFF MYERS, Chief of Police- Hoquiam Police Department.
Don, welcome to the Wonderful World of Retirement.
I have really enjoyed knowing you in your private life over the last few years. As Winston Churchill said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
You will discover that Sir Winston was right, retirement is what lies beyond the beginning. Form a new and wonderful life, continue to serve others, and be grateful for the friends and career that brought you here.