The City of Spearfish has developed a Public Safety Department. I have been promoted to Chief of Police. I am very excited about the new position as well as work with the Department of Public Safety. I believe great things will come to the City of Spearfish as a result of this change.

In 2012 The City of Spearfish added a Assistant Chief of Police position to the command staff level. There had not been a Assistant Chief position since Doug Kloppel retired in 1996. The Assistant Chief of Police position manages the patrol, detectives, communications,, animal control, and parking divisions. I maintain oversight to ensure we are budgeted properly and that we work within that budget. It is my role to ensure that the police department is taking care of the needs of our community, in manner that best serves everyone. I also oversee the hiring process, as well as discipline for employees.

Patrol administration was the role for this position. Our command structure at that time was, Police Chief, two Lieutenants, one who managed patrol division, and one managing dispatch & the detective division. I managed four patrol supervisors and 11 patrol officers. Included was animal control and downtown parking enforcement. I managed the fleet vehicles for the entire department.

As a Police Sergeant I managed 15 patrol officers. I was in charge of the schedule for the patrol division, which included court, vacations, sick leave, etc. I actively assigned officers to calls for service and made sure all incidents were taken care of in a professional manner.

I have held these positions during my employment with the Spearfish Police Department. Along with Patrol duties, investigations, I had a German Shepherd named Bear for 7 years. K-9 work was extremely rewarding. I lost my K-9 partner and best friend in 1999. We accomplished a great deal as a team and I will always cherish the time we worked together.I became the first School Resource Officer in the community of Spearfish in 2001. I worked with the public schools as a resource and partner in introducing law enforcement officers to everyday life in the schools. This was extremely rewarding to work with students and teachers alike. I was assigned to that position until my promotion to Sergeant in 2003.

Worked alone in a jail facility that housed 52 inmates. At that time inmate population included adults and juveniles. I was responsible for booking new prisoners, maintaining inmate safety in the jail, laundry, court appearances, medication dispensing, attorney and family visitation, and any other duties as assigned by the Sheriff.