Two new officers join the Chinook Police Department

Two vacancies occurred in the Chinook Police Department with the retirement of Chief Mark Weber and the recent leaving of another officer. Two new Police Officers recently joined the department.

Mike Schmidt

Mike Schmidt joined the Chinook Police Department as a Police Officer on June 23. He was born in Santa Cruz, California, then at age 16 his family moved to Smith Valley, Nevada, where he graduated from high school. Before joining the Chinook department he was a corrections officer at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

After graduating high school Schmidt worked in a steel fabricating shop in Reno. The company shut down its western shop and, after 20 years at the facility, Schmidt faced finding another job. He said, "Some of my co-workers freaked out when the shop closed. I was forced to think about my future and began to see it as an opportunity to pursue a totally different career path." Schmidt and his wife have six children ranging five to 23 in ages.

He said, "My dad was a firefighter for the city of Santa Cruz. I'd never thought much about public service. I was at a point that I thought maybe it was time to 'pay it back' to my community. Law enforcement seemed one way I could do that. My goal was to find a job that I love to do." A co-worker from Nevada had taken a job with the corrections system in Montana and encouraged Schmidt to apply. He was hired and began at the prison in 2013. When he saw the job posting for Chinook, he applied as his goal was to work in law enforcement.

Asked about the biggest difference between corrections and law enforcement work, he said, "In the prison system there is a lot of strife and hassle, you're always dealing with criminals. It can wear you down. In police work I see more ways I can acutally help people." He also commented that, to this point, he feels police officers get better training for dealing with issues they face on the job.

Police officers have to complete a 12 week POST training at the Montana Academy to be certified for law enforcement work. Schmidt will begin that training in early January, 2016. Interestingly, his 20 year old daughter will also be at the academy, at the same time, to complete her initial training to work for the Montana State Prison as a corrections officer. Schmidt's older children are living on their own but his wife and younger children plan to join him in Chinook after school is out this coming spring.

Schmidt has a second degree black belt in Danzan Ryu jujitsu, he's pursued the martial art form for ten years. Students at all levels in the jujitsu training classes compete against each other. Schmidt told, "I got the nickname of the 'Gentle Giant' because I never took advantage of students with lower skill levels." But, he added, "I can turn it on when I want or need to."

Schmidt said, "I'm really excited to be in Chinook. All the officers in the Chinook Police Department and the Sheriff's officers and staff have been very helpful and supportive. And the people I've met in the community are very welcoming. I'm looking forward to my family joining me and all of us becoming a part of the community. I think this move will be very good for the quality of our family life."

Brandon Olson

Brandon Olson was born in north Idaho but moved to the Kalispell area when he was 11 years old. Since high school he's worked a number of jobs, mostly related to construction. He's a certified pipe welder and has done a lot of sheet metal and structural steel work.

While still in the Kalispell area he became licensed as a private security guard. He explained, "I was licensed, through the state, to be an armed guard. I worked personal security details, special events and private parties while still working construction."

He also volunteered with the Flathead Sheriff's Posse-a uniformed group that does backup work for the sheriff's department. Olson said, "We worked with traffic control, crime scene security and other work for the sheriff." He added, "The sheriff's department gave us lots of relevant training. That training and experience with the sheriff's department, plus the private security experience, got me interested in law enforcement."

Olson started as a Chinook Police Officer on October 30. He said, "It's a new job and right now I'm in a pretty steep learning curve. Despite some prior experience I'm finding every department does things slightly different. I'm still learning my way around." Olson will go to the academy in April for his mandated POST training-the 12 week training to be a certified law enforcement officer.

He said he enjoys outdoor activities, away from the job, and has always been drawn to smaller towns. He, like Officer Schmidt, has trained in jujitsu-but the Brazilian style. Olson lives in Chinook.

Olson added, "I like the people here and the lifestyle. I want to help and protect people, it's a job I believe I will love to do. Hopefully I can be an example of the proper way law enforcement should be done."

The "Journal" welcomes these two new officers to the Chinook Police Department.