October 30, 2017 at 3:52 p.m.
Officer Kyle Parish promoted to detective sergeant
Law enforcement veteran has extensive investigative experience
Officer Kyle Parish promoted to detective sergeant
Also considered for the promotion were veteran officers patrolman Jake Simpkins and patrol sergeant Kurt Helke.
"We were impressed with all of the candidates we had for that position," commission chair Todd McEldowney said after the group came back into open session to make the announcement.
Police chief Lloyd Gauthier said the promotion was effective Monday.
A member of the RPD since January 2010, he has been a task force investigator with the Northcentral Drug Enforcement Group (NORDEG) since November 2013. His promotion will leave a vacancy in that unit, which operates out of the Oneida County Sheriff's Department.
"We will probably leave that position vacant through November or December," Gauthier said. "But this is contingent with me talking to sheriff (Grady) Hartman; I know he wants this position staffed."
Gauthier said Hartman was out of state and the two of them had yet to discuss filling the vacancy.
Prior to joining the Rhinelander Police Department, Parish briefly served with the Neosho/Rubicon/Ashippun Police Department in 2009, the Mayfile department from 2008 to 2009, as an undercover drug investigator with the Washington County Sheriff's Department from 2007-2008 and with the town of Ripon Police Department in 2007.
In addition to Parish, Simpkins also has experience as a NORDEG task force investigator. McEldowney said Parish's experience with NORDEG was a big factor in his selection, but not the sole factor.
"I think it was a big factor for both of them, but don't disregard the number of years that Kurt has with the department and the amount of investigations he has done during his tenure with the police department," McEldowney said. "Did NORDEG carry the day? I would say no. But was it an important factor? I'd say yes.
Gauthier said a lot of the duties of a task force investigator are similar to those of a detective.
"It's an investigative-type position," Gauthier said. "They are gathering information and putting together a case, just as the detectives do. They take information given to them by a patrolman from a burglary or a theft and they take that information and build a case from it. So a lot of the skills are the same as the drug investigator position."
Currently, there are two vacancies in the Rhinelander Police Department, and Gauthier has said he has exhausted his standing list of candidates. He hopes to start advertising for applications by the end of November.
The PFC will meet Nov. 28 to discuss Gauthier's idea of the department sponsoring a potential local candidate who might not have completed the required police training receiving it at Nicolet Community College. Gauthier has suggested this option in the past, saying the Wisconsin Department of Justice would reimburse the city if the candidate successfully completes training.
Gauthier is set to bring the final plan back to the city's public safety committee for approval, with the full City Council having the final say before it could be used as a recruiting tool.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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