Profile: New GPD Chief Brien Gault

Brien Gault was sworn in as chief of the Glasgow Police Department on Aug. 20, at the regular city council meeting. Gault received the post after being unanimously confirmed by the city council and sworn in by Mayor Becky Erickson. Gault sat down with The Glasgow Courier to discuss his background in law enforcement, firefighting and community service as well as his goal for the department.

Born in Devil's Lake, N.D., to a railroading family, Gault moved to Hinsdale with his family in 1981, where he went to school. "Dad didn't care for 'large towns'," explained Gault, "So we lived in Hinsdale and not Glasgow, and he just drove the 30 miles every time they called him in." Gault went on to graduate from Hinsdale High School in 1989 and took a job working on a ranch until applying for the Valley County Sheriff's Office in 1991.

Gault was hired under then-Sheriff Dan Taylor and continued on the force until 1997. During that time, he worked as a D.A.R.E. officer for each of the county schools. Gault said he was actually the youngest officer to be sent to the D.A.R.E. program in Los Angeles, Calif., because at the time an officer was supposed to have five years of experience to attend, but he only had two years at the time. As a deputy, Gault also served as a certified diver for the office.

In 1997, Gault moved over to the Glasgow Police Department and began his ascent to the top as a patrolman. In May of 2001, he was promoted to corporal and then to lieutenant in March of 2004. Gault would go on to receive an appointment to assistant chief of police in April of 2009, before taking on his current position as chief.

In his time in Glasgow, Gault has filled various roles as chemical agent instructor, active shooter instructor, field training officer, and as a Special Weapons and Tactics member. "That's the way it is in a small department, you do a little bit of everything," explained Gault through a slight laugh.

In addition to over 27 years as a law enforcement officer in Valley County, Gault has taken no time off from chasing emergencies and serving the area. Originally, Gault was certified as an emergency medical technician in Hinsdale at the age of 19, and he continued that service after moving to Glasgow in 1991 with the FMDH Stat Ambulance.

Following his tour with Stat in 1994, he became a volunteer member of the Glasgow Fire Department holding positions as fireman, captain, and assistant fire chief before retiring in 2014. All in addition to performing his role as a full-time law enforcement officer.

The newly appointed chief lives in Glasgow today with his wife, Heidi, and the couple raised two daughters together. Gault spent what little of his remaining spare time he had coaching his daughters' athletic teams. "I've coached everything from T-ball to soccer to softball," reminisced Gault before adding that his last coaching job involved supervising his youngest daughter's Glasgow Ice Dawgs 10U girls hockey team.

As for the future of the GPD, Gault doesn't hold back his excitement stating, "My vision is to be, virtually, the best department in the State of Montana. I mean, we have a great crew going forward and the community should expect nothing less than that from us."