Idaho Falls welcomes new police chief

New Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson met with local media today for the first time to answer questions.

Johnson comes from Juneau, Alaska where he was police chief for four years. Prior to that, he was with the Salt Lake City Police Department for more than 20 years.

Johnson says he is excited to build strong connections with the department and community.

“We’re a people organizations,” Johnson, said. “We interact and deal with people, internally we’re a person organization. So what I’m really trying to do is look at how we interact with each other and with the public, see if we can make that more of a personal connection.”

Johnson also acknowledged that officers in the Idaho Falls Police Department have talked about unionizing. After being in the force for so long, unions don’t seem to faze him.

“I have come to the conclusion over my career, there’s a right way to do things and I intend to do that,” Johnson, said. “So the way I act, the way I interact with my officers, the way I treat people here internally, will be the same whether there’s a union or not a union. I will do the same thing.”

If you want the chance to meet the new police chief, he will be at “Coffee With a Cop” on Saturday, September 16 at the Villa Coffeehouse.