Patrol Officers

Sergeant Doreen Valadez
Sgt. Valadez first decided to go into the law enforcement field in 1989 while living in San Antonio, Texas. She was hired as a detention officer for the Bexar County Detention Center where she attained the rank of Corporal. In October 1993, she decided to move back to Alaska to further her career. She was hired by the Seward Police Department in April 1994 and attended the academy in Sitka. During her time with the department, she has been the D.A.R.E. officer, School Resource Officer, a member of the SART (Sexual Assault Response Team), a member of the Seward Prevention Coalition, and coordinator of the Citizen’s Police Academy and the Every 15 Minutes Program. She is also the author of the monthly COP Talk column in the local newspaper.

Corporal Patrick Messmer
Corporal Messmer grew up in Fairbanks. He attended college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice in May of 1999. In August of 1999, he was hired by the Bethel Police Department and was sent to the Alaska State Trooper Academy in Sitka where he graduated 3rd in his class of 41 students. Officer Messmer worked for the Bethel Police Department for a total of 6 years. During that time he held the positions of Investigator and Sergeant. He is currently an APSC certified firearms instructor, urban rifle instructor, Glock armorer, and an AR15/M16 armorer. He was hired by the Seward Police Department in February 2006. In March 2008, he was promoted to Corporal.

Alan Nickell
Officer Nickell hails from the Midwest originally. After high school he joined the U.S. Army and then later changed forces to the U.S. Air Force. During his ten years of military service, Officer Nickell traveled most of the world and served his country in support of the war with Iraq and the liberation of Kuwait. In early 1999, Officer Nickell moved to Alaska where he lived in Anchorage for four years and worked for the USDA as a wildlife agent. In 2002, Officer Nickell was hired by the Seward Police Department and is currently assigned at the School Resource Officer for Seward's three schools.

Eddie Armstrong
Officer Armstrong began his law enforcement career in 1995 while on active duty with the military. In 1997, he transferred into federal law enforcement for the military, working overseas as a civilian police officer. In 2000, he returned to Alaska and joined the Army National Guard, where he holds both an MP and an Infantry MOS. He then began working for a private company as head of security for cruise ship operations in Alaska. Officer Armstrong joined the Seward Police Department in 2004.

James Rouleau
Officer Rouleau grew up in the Fairbanks area and has lived in Alaska for 19 years. Officer Rouleau attended the University of Alaska in Fairbanks where he first became interested in law enforcement. He graduated in the first class of the Fairbanks Police Academy and started his career in law enforcement by working in rural Alaska for three and a half years as a police officer for the City of Bethel. Officer Rouleau came to the Seward Police Department on April 19, 2006 where he began work as a Correctional Officer. He moved into the patrol division in August 2007 where he continues to learn and improve his skills and knowledge in police procedures.

Ken Brockman
Officer Brockman started working as a police officer for the City of Seward in July, 2008. Prior to that he worked for the City of Dillingham as a police officer for eight years, a correctional officer for three years, and reserve police officer. He began his career in Law Enforcement in 1994 as a Village Public Safety Officer in the Yupik’ villages of Togiak and Aleknagik. He fished commercially for a short time, and holds a Commercial Pilot’s license with a variety of ratings, having logged more than five thousand hours of Alaska flight time.

Karl Schaefermeyer

Nicholas Degnan