GPD Chief Position Draws 31 Candidates

The city of Glasgow is forming a scoring committee to consider the 31 candidates who have applied for the position of Glasgow Police Department Chief.

"I want to appoint a scoring committee tonight," Mayor Becky Erickson said during the regular city meeting on August 2. "The number one thing this committee is going to do, the names will be blacked out on the applications. I want to make it very transparent."

Erickson nominated Emery Brelje to serve on the committee. Brelje is a former GPD officer, chief of police and city judge. She also invited City Attorney Anna Sullivan to sit on the committee, as well as former City Judge Lynn Gilbert.

She also encouraged Councilmember Rod Karst, and former councilmember Todd Young to join the committee, as both are running for mayor in the upcoming election. Erickson is retiring at the end of her term this year after several decades serving the city.

Karst and Young "should both be involved in this because one or the other will be mayor and need some buy in to work with this person," Erickson said.

The scoring committee will determine the top five candidates from the pool. The finalists will be interviewed by the council at a later date.

"Hopefully at the next council meeting, this scoring committee will have a report and we can move forward," Erikson said.

The candidates include GPD Capt. Tyler Edwards, currently serving as interim police chief, and GPD Sgt. Robert Weber, currently serving as assistant chief.

Edwards, formerly the assistant chief, on May 23 was appointed interim police chief upon the termination of former Chief Brien Gault. Gault had been with GPD for about 30-years. The reason or reasons for his termination have not been released to the public, and he has not commented on the matter.

In late June, the city council voted to accept applicants for the job from both within existing GPD ranks, and from without. The council encouraged current GPD officers to apply for the position while advertising nationally for at least the next month.

During both the regular council meeting June 7, and during the special meeting in late June, Edwards detailed benefits and disadvantages for hiring within GPD versus without.

Hiring a chief from outside the department can be beneficial in certain situations, he said. However, an immediate disadvantage to an outside hire would be a lack of familiarity with the community, Edwards added.

Additionally, such a move could cause metaphorical whiplash within the ranks, and be detrimental to morale.

Edwards encouraged councilmembers to consider the experience of those already in Glasgow and established at GPD, including himself and Weber.

Weber noted progress GPD has made with matters such as Community Oriented Policing since he and Edwards took command.

Erickson has said Edwards and Weber have been at work to build and foster partnerships with other law enforcement agencies in the area, including the Valley County Sheriff's Office.

Edwards and Weber both welcomed outside competition for the position, noting they want to earn the position, if chosen, fair and square based on their experience and qualifications.