Longtime Washington officer takes reins of Columbia Falls Police Department

A veteran law enforcement officer from Yakima, Washington is the new Columbia Falls Police Chief. Chad Stephens was recently appointed to the post by the Columbia Falls City Council.

Stephens was formerly a lieutenant with the Yakima Police Department. He started his career there about 30 years ago, as a reserve officer at age 21, he said in an interview last week. He began working as a correction officer for Yakima County and then in 1995 joined the city’s police force as an officer, working his way up through the ranks in the department, holding posts such as detective, sergeant and acting chief during his tenure.

The Yakima department has about 150 personnel in the city of 97,000 people. But he’s long eyed living in Montana.

“My wife (Jodi) and I have been coming over to Montana for years and really like it,” he said.

When he saw the job open here, it was a natural transition. He retired from Yakima at the end of September and the next day took the post here.

Stephens and his wife are outdoor enthusiasts he said. They like to hike, hunt, fish and snowshoe and this area has all that and much more.

They have four grown children and five grandchildren.

He said his law enforcement philosophy is to be proactive.

“The best way is to be visible and have contact with people,” he said.

He’s excited to work with the young police force in Columbia Falls, which currently has 11 officers and will add a twelfth by this summer.

“The officers are better generalists in a department like this,” he said. “They’re doing their own follow-up work.”

He has already had kudos for them. They recently cracked a case where a man had been allegedly committing a variety of property crimes in neighborhoods in Columbia Falls.

Following up on leads, they learned the man, Louis A. Surrell, was living in a tent up on Columbia Mountain. They hiked up there and arrested him, Stephens said.

Surrell faces numerous misdemeanor charges in the case and was allegedly found with items he wouldn’t normally have had living as a transient.

“I thought that was a solid piece of police work,” he said.

Stephens recognized the officers on social media.

He also gave kudos to former police Chief Clint Peters, who retired in August.

“Peters did a fantastic job putting the department on a trajectory built for success,” he said.

Stephens will look to continue that course, making more training available, including training with the Flathead County SWAT team in the future.