Nov. 30—GRAND FORKS — The incoming Grand Forks police chief, who will move from a much larger agency, hopes that being part of a smaller team will give him a better opportunity to connect with his employees — and the city as whole .
“I hope and expect that I can be part of the law enforcement team because of the size, but also the community because of the size,” Capt. Jason Freedman told the Herald. “Those things certainly appealed to me (when I applied for the position.)”
Freedman was announced on Nov. 22 as the selection for the vacant position of Grand Forks police chief.
Of the five finalists
he was the only one who wasn’t already working for the Grand Forks Police Department or the UND Police Department.
Freedman currently works for the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin. He is in his eighth year as captain and was previously a lieutenant for three years.
The Madison Police Department, which has about 500 sworn officers and 100 civilian employees, divides the city into six police districts. Each has a captain, lieutenants, sergeants and officers.
As captain, Freedman has at least 50 officers reporting to him, and he is responsible for between 50,000 and 60,000 residents.
“I have had a very rewarding and enjoyable career,” he said.
He has served in a number of different assignments and has experience with narcotics and SWAT, neighborhood and community policing, and dealing with challenging political environments and natural disasters, he said.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of different things over the years,” Freedman said. “I think I have a breadth of experience and some depth in certain areas that I think will hopefully serve the department and the community well over time.”
Before he can apply his experiences in this new role, he believes he needs to get to know the culture of the GFPD and its people.
“This is a great department, great people,” Freedman said. “My biggest responsibility is getting to know them, getting to know the agency, getting to know the community.”
He will officially start as GFPD chief on January 27.
Freedman has reached an agreement with the city on what his salary will be, but the final decision must be voted on by the City Council. That should happen next Monday, he said.
Before he officially starts, Freedman is going through the logistics of finding a place to live and wrapping things up in Madison, and enjoying the holidays.
He has already been in contact with interim Chief Dwight Love and other GFPD officials. Freedman’s involvement will be minimal before his official start date, but he will remain in communication, he said.
