Tribal member joins police force

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Being a police officer was not always on Tribal member Ayden Bobb’s radar, but he did know that he loved helping others.

After two months serving with the Grand Ronde Tribal Police following completion of the police academy in 2024, Bobb said that even on tough days, he knows he’s found his place.

Bobb grew up in Salem, but spent a lot of time on the reservation, visiting his grandfather, Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr., who walked on in 2022.

“We were pretty close,” he said. “I got to see how much he dedicated of himself, with his years on the (Tribal) council, or even just conversations I saw him have,” Bobb said. “If they were a member of the community, he cared.”  

Steve Bobb Sr. was a Vietnam War era Marine Corps veteran who served on Tribal Council for three terms, which he jokingly referred to as “tours on Tribal Council,” using a military term. Bobb was a sculptor and painter who designed the Tribe’s West Valley Veterans Memorial and the “Visionaries” statue of the three Tribal Elders, credited for bringing about the Tribe’s Restoration, at the front of the Governance Center: Merle Holmes, Margaret Provost and Marvin Kimsey.

Even today, Bobb said, sometimes people he’s had to arrest recall his grandfather with affection.

Even while driving them to jail, he said, some will ask if he’s any relation to Steve Bobb. When he answers in affirmative, the response is usually, “’Hell of a nice guy.’”

“My grandfather kind of paved the way for me,” he said. “It’s been two years since he died and I still haven’t heard anything bad about him.”

Bobb was working for the Tribe’s Housing Department when he first began searching for another path.

“I was content with what I was doing, but I felt like I could do more,” he said.

In 2021, he joined the Marine Corps Reserves. “When I was younger, I wanted to be in the military,” he said. “It was something I always wanted to do.”

He returned to Oregon when his grandfather died.

“We were pretty close and it impacted me a lot,” Bobb said. “Going through the mourning process, I started thinking about what my grandpa would want. He wouldn’t want me to go around being sad all the time; he would want me to do something.”

It was right around then, Bobb recalled, that the Tribe opened up an entry-level officer position.

“I had always admired law enforcement,” he said. “It wasn’t until after my grandpa passed away that I decided that was what I wanted to go do.

Bobb applied for the position and was hired. Because he lacked previous experience however, he first went through the police academy to learn the job. He graduated in October 2024 and began working full-time. Initially, new officers are placed in a field training enhancement program, working with a supervisor who gradually gives them more responsibility.  

“A lot of the base stuff they give us at the academy, but it’s different when you’re with an actor at the academy, then in a real situation, so they guide us through that,” he said.

Officers handle a wide variety of cases, from traffic patrol to intervening in difficult family problems. Bobb is the department’s youngest new hire but said none of that has dissuaded him.

“I love it,” he said. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I definitely made the right choice. When I was working as a housing technician…I felt like there was more I could be doing. I’m grateful to the department leadership and all they have done to get me to this point. I have challenged myself and met a lot of really great people.”

Bobb acknowledged that the job isn’t always easy.

“The days get long and you get tired,” he said. “But there’s never a day when I’d rather be somewhere else. I’m like, ‘This is what the job is right now and I’m going to be getting this done.’”

He said he also appreciates his colleagues.

“Everybody helps everybody and everybody understands the job gets hard sometimes,” he said. “It’s like a family.”

Bobb said he also appreciates the lack of predictability.  

“There’s never a routine call, because you never know what something is going to turn into,” he said. “Traffic is one of my favorite things and investigating traffic calls. One minute you’re sitting with paperwork and the next you’re driving with lights and sirens to the casino.”

An important aspect of the job, he said, is that he’s working for the Tribe.

“Being in this community working for Grand Ronde is so very important to me,” he said. “I grew up in Salem, but working for the Salem Police I would not have the same sense of pride as I do here.”

Bobb said in his off hours, he enjoys spending time with his siblings as a family, and with his girlfriend and their dog.