Chief Donald W. Grimes was born and raised in Eugene , Oregon . After graduating from high school he worked as an Able Bodied Seaman in the Merchant Marines traveling to many of the Pacific Ocean countries. He then served two years in the United States Army and was stationed in Texas and Germany . Following his honorable discharge from the military he began his career with Law Enforcement in 1972 by joining the Lane County Sheriff’s Office headquartered in Eugene , Oregon . As a deputy sheriff, Chief Grimes was assigned to many duties while with the Sheriff’s Office. His assignments included patrol deputy, traffic team, marine patrol, detective, motorcycle patrol, undercover narcotics investigator, and resident deputy.
In 1989 Chief Grimes accepted a job with the North Slope Borough Police Department as a police officer and moved to Barrow, Alaska. He was first assigned to the village of Point Hope and after one year with the Police Department he was promoted to Corporal. After two and one half years in Point Hope he was transferred to Barrow where he worked his way up to Lieutenant. He then took a voluntary demotion to police officer so he could be assigned to the Prudhoe Bay Post to work a two and two rotation schedule. He remained assigned to the Prudhoe Bay Post for four years until being selected for Chief of Police by Mayor Edward Itta in January 2006.
Chief Grimes, along with his administrative staff has made many positive changes during the past year in the North Slope Borough Police Department. Community Oriented Policing now drives the Department connecting the community with the Police Department, new professional uniforms help with the image change, a two week rotational program for police officers is now in effect in all villages, a strong partnering with the citizens in pursuing the goal of healthy communities is seeing some successes, and networking with other law enforcement agencies is one of the top priorities.
Chief Grimes is married to Vicki Grimes who is works for the FBI in the Anchorage Office. Together they have eight children and nineteen grandchildren. Chief Grimes and his wife enjoy snow machining, hunting, fishing, traveling, and spending time together.