Bellevue officer back on patrol after return from deployment

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A Bellevue police officer is back patrolling the city after serving his third tour of duty with the National Guard.

Bellevue police said Officer Jesse Hjelmstad, as a Sergeant First Class, led a platoon of 20 medics in northeastern Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe for the past year.

“During the mission, officer Hjelmstad and his unit trained with Jordanian forces in combat first aid, including setting up field hospitals and teaching the Jordanians how to care for themselves on the battlefield,” police said in a news release.

He left in 2019 and returned in late September.

“There were a couple of Seattle officers and a King County Deputy in my platoon, so every night we’d watched everything unfold online. From the COVID-19 outbreak to the protests and civil unrest,” Hjelmstad said. “I was a little apprehensive coming back, but it’s been much better than I expected. I’m proud to serve my country and proud to be back with BPD.”

Hjelmstad said he missed his family, and that was the difficult part of his deployment.

Bellevue police said he has four more years in the Air National Guard.

Cox Media Group