Weber Appointed as Glasgow Police Chief

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was updated at noon Friday Sept. 17 to correct an error concerning the members who served on the scoring committee.

Robert Weber has been appointed by the Glasgow City Council as police chief of the Glasgow Police Department.

"I am incredibly honored to have been chosen to lead the Glasgow Police Department," Weber told The Courier.

"Over the past decade and half of working for the department; I've had the opportunity to gain experiences, form relationships and build community partnerships that will help make Glasgow a safer, healthier and more supportive community for all. I am excited and look forward to continuing to serve our community."

Weber is scheduled to be sworn in by city of Glasgow Mayor Becky Erickson during the next regular council meeting. Erickson abstained from the vote to confirm Weber.

Weber was chosen from a pool of more than 30 candidates who applied for the position after the termination of former Chief Brien Gault in late May. 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 about the next month.

Both then Sgt. Weber and Capt. Tyler Edwards applied for the position. Edwards and Weber said they both welcomed outside competition for the position, noting they wanted to earn the position, if chosen, fair and square based on their experience and qualifications.

The Glasgow City Council in August formed a scoring committee to consider candidates who applied for the position. The candidates were whittled down over time by the scoring committee, which included former GPD Officer, Chief of Police and City Judge Emery Brelje, Rod Karst, Todd Young, Stan Ozark, Butch Heitman and Lisa Koski.

The scoring committee subsequently determined the top five candidates from the pool. The finalists were later interviewed.

Last week, three candidates remained, including Weber and Edwards.

During the transition from Gault to Weber, Edwards served as GPD interim police chief. Edwards now returns to his former position of assistant police chief.

Details as to who will replace Weber in the now open sergeant slot for the department were not available before press time this week.

In addition to his normal policing duties, Weber also serves as Team Commander of the Northeast Montana Special Response Team (SRT).