New police captain chosen at Rhinelander police and fire commission meeting

The Rhinelander police and fire commission has selected Chad Brown to be the next police captain of the Rhinelander Police Department.

Brown’s appointment took place at a meeting Thursday, Feb. 5, after a closed session in which the commission interviewed candidates for the role.

“I would like to thank the commission for believing in me and trusting me with this position,” said Brown. Promoted from patrol sergeant, he has served with the RPD nearly 19 of his 24 years in law enforcement. 

“I was born and raised in Rhinelander, so this is my community,” he added. “I’m going to keep it the way it is. I’m going to do my best to keep the Hodag spirit up and make sure our department continues to have a great reputation with the community.”

Prior to the closed session, in which there was also a discussion on posting for the fire chief position, Ryan Berghammer of the Rhinelander Fire Department endorsed interim fire chief Adam “A.J.” Johnson during public comment. Johnson did not speak.

After emerging from the closed session, commission chairman Todd McEldowney announced it had been “determined we are not going to be looking elsewhere (for a fire chief) at this time.” 

“We are not going to be posting outside of our department,” he said. “We would be looking to have A.J. interview with us at the end of the month, and we will revisit the situation on your status of … interim position or a permanent position.”

“I would just like to thank the commission for the opportunity to show you I’m capable of doing this position,” said Johnson. “I appreciate that.”

“You showed a lot of fortitude sitting there and saying ‘Nope, I don’t have anything to say to you guys’ in our previous open session. That told me a lot,” McEldowney replied. “You’ve got the confidence, you’ve got the trust in us that we’ll make the right decision for the community, and you did yourself proud today. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Pete Tenderholdt was absent from the meeting.

The date of the next meeting of the Rhinelander police and fire comission has not yet been decided.

Ardith Carlton may be reached at [email protected].