New Grand Forks police chief hopes leading smaller agency will allow stronger connections with staff

Nov. 30—GRAND FORKS — The incoming Grand Forks police chief, who will be relocating from a much larger agency, hopes that being part of a smaller team will afford him a better opportunity to connect with his employees — and the city as a whole.

“I hope and expect that I will be able to become part of the police department team because of the size — as well as part of the community because of the size,” Capt. Jason Freedman told the Herald. “Those things were definitely appealing to me (when I applied for the position.)”

Freedman was announced as the selection for Grand Forks’ vacant police chief position on Nov. 22.

Out of five finalists

, he was the only one not already working for the Grand Forks Police Department or the UND Police Department.

Freedman currently works at the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin. He is in his eighth year as a captain and, prior to that, was a lieutenant for three years.

The Madison Police Department, which has roughly 500 sworn officers and 100 civilian employees, splits the city into six police districts. Each has a captain, lieutenants, sergeants and officers.

As a captain, Freedman has at least 50 officers reporting to him, and he is responsible for between 50,000 and 60,000 residents.

“I’ve had a very rewarding, enjoyable career,” he said.

He has held a number of different assignments, and has experience in narcotics and SWAT, neighborhood and community policing, as well as 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 broad experience set and have some depth in certain areas that I think, in time, will hopefully serve the department and the community well.”

Before applying his experiences to this new role, he believes he needs to learn the culture of the GFPD and its people.

“This is a great department, great people,” Freedman said. “My No. 1 responsibility is to get to know them, get to know the agency, get to know the community.”

He will officially start as GFPD chief on Jan. 27.

Freedman has reached an agreement with the city on what his salary will be, but the final decision needs to be voted on by the City Council. That should take place next Monday, he said.

Before he officially begins, Freedman is working through the logistics of finding a place to live and wrapping up things in Madison, as well as enjoying the holiday season.

He has already been in communication with interim Chief Dwight Love and other GFPD officers. Freedman’s involvement will be minimal before his official start date, but he will be in communication, he said.