Issaquah Law Enforcement History
Forrest Goodrow
Chief of Police 1959-1971

Forrest was born April 23, 1920 in New Underwood, North Dakota. His father was from Canada and his grandparents were from France. He was raised and attended school on Lopez Island. He married Ona Jean Gallanger on June 6, 1942.

Chief Goodrow started his career with the Issaquah Police Department in February 1959. It was a two-officer department in those days as the city had a population of around 1,500.

The department had one patrol car, a 1958 Chevrolet equipped with a radio that utilized the King County Sheriff’s frequency. When an officer was needed, the dispatchers would turn on a pole-mounted red light that was located in the ball field.  If the officer didn’t see the light and didn’t respond to the call, the dispatcher would call the Sheriff’s Office and have them call the officer on the car radio. Eventually the IPD got it’s own base radio so it’s dispatchers could communicate directly with the officers.

Photo Courtesy of Forrest Goodrow
Chief Goodrow accepting the keys of a new 1960 Chevrolet patrol car from the owner of the Stonebridge Chevrolet dealership

Forrest recollects that the first police station was upstairs in the old city hall in two small rooms at the back of the building. There was a small jail in the basement, and more than once the prisoners would receive liquor or beer that had been passed though the street level windows!

A police/fire dispatcher lived in two rooms in the City Hall.  She was expected to answer the telephones 24 hours a day, seven days a week!  This was long before the 9-1-1 system was implemented and the dispatcher worked solo for the most part, and fielded all types of  emergency and non-emergency calls.

Photo Courtesy of Issaquah Police Department
Mrs. Etta Barra - Dispatcher - 1962

Forrest assisted the King County Sheriff’s Department and the Coroner’s Office, and had commissions from both agencies. He also worked with the State Patrol on various details.

 He described one incident in which two small children had been playing in a shallow sunken hole on Mountain Park Blvd. The children had been overcome by mine gas seeping from the olds mines in the area and when two officers responded to assist, they too were incapacitated.  Fortunately, the fire department arrived and rescued everyone without serious or permanent injury.

Forrest left the department in 1971. He was employed as a heavy equipment operator in San Juan County and later worked for the State of Washington.

Forrest passed away on March 28, 2002 and was buried on his beloved Lopez Island. His wife, Ona Jean, survives him.

See the Full List of Issaquah Marshals and Police Chiefs

Issaquah Law Enforcement History

Images in this article are courtesy of the Issaquah Police Department, unless otherwise noted.