Chief Monegan was raised in bush Alaska, in a town called Nyac, by his maternal grandparents. At that time, Nyac was a gold mining community with a population of 54 people and a one room school house. After attending one year of college at Alaska Methodist University, Walt enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1970.
In January of 1974, Walt was hired as a patrolman with the Anchorage Police Department. Since that time he has worked in every division and almost every unit of the Department including Internal Affairs, Crime Prevention, Communications, and Detectives, but always enjoyed his time on Patrol which he returned to frequently. Walt has attended Northwestern University Traffic Institute Police School of Staff and Command and University of Louisville National Crime Prevention Institute.
In addition to police work Walt has served on Boards and Community Task Forces to include:
In January of 2001 then Lieutenant Monegan, a district commander, was appointed Chief of Police by Mayor George Wuerch.
Walt has a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Administration from Alaska Pacific University. He has four children and resides in Chugiak with his wife Terry and daughter Haleyne.