Chief Joe Michaud grew up in Montana and attended high school and college in Washington State. He began his law enforcement career with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. In 1977 he moved to Valdez and started with the Valdez Police Department during the somewhat chaotic pipeline construction period. He worked as patrol officer, investigator, sergeant, assistant chief, and was appointed chief in 1997. Joe was acting chief during the first six months of the Exxon oil spill.
Chief Michaud holds a “founding mother” award from The Advocates of Victims of Violence and helped form the Valdez Youth Court. He is active in Rotary and holds membership in AACOP, IACP, NTOA, APOA, NACOP, and FBINA. Joe was granted an advanced certificate and several instructor certificates from the Alaska Police Standards Council. In 2003 he was a member of an Alaskan team selected by the U.S. State Department to present an oil and pipeline security seminar for the government of Kazakhstan.
The Valdez Police Department strives to provide the highest quality service by hiring the best personnel and ensuring ongoing continuous training.