Pocatello police captain retires after more than 40 years

A Pocatello police captain is hanging up his badge and gun after more than four decades in law enforcement.

Tuesday, a retirement luncheon for Captain Terry Felsman was held at Pocatello City Hall.

Felsman was honored with awards for his many years of service. A city council member presented Felsman with a key to the city. Chief Scott Marchand presented him with a badge, a retirement plaque and his weapon with a personalized gun box.

Felsman said it had been his dream ever since he was a little kid to become a policeman.

Felsman started with the Pocatello Police Department as a cadet in 1974. Now, forty one and a half years later, he’s still there.

Tuesday was Felsman’s last official day on the job and he said there’s a lot of things he’ll miss about it.

“I’ll miss the interaction with not only the public, but the people I bring in to interview in regards to crimes and being able to get a confession from somebody to be able to solve a crime,” Felsman said.

But he said the thing he’ll probably miss the most is the friendship and camaraderie at the station.

“I’ll miss the friendships I’ve made here, the people that I’ve worked with,” Felsman said. “I couldn’t ask for any better people to work with. They’ve just been tremendous.”

One of Felsman’s biggest achievements is graduating from the FBI National Academy in 2009.

Felsman has worked in nearly every division and held numerous titles during his time in law enforcement. His longest time was spent as a detective. He said he’s worked many homicide cases over the years, including some notable cases like Red Elk, Nori Jones, and the still-unsolved Cindy Bringhurst case.

Felsman said it’s cold cases that will make it hard to leave the job behind.

“I’ve had a lot of homicides in my career but it’s the cold cases that kind of bother you because you don’t solve them and it’s not easy to be able to leave something unfinished,” he said.

Felsman said he’s pleased with his time as a detective and he’s confident the cold cases will all eventually be solved. He said overall, he’s had a very satisfying career.

“I always wanted to leave on a high note and it’s a high now and it’s time for me to move on and let other officers fill my spots.”

Felsman said he loves the community of Pocatello and it’s been a great place to live. He said he’s grateful for all the support he’s received over the years.

“The public and the community has treated me so good in forty one and a half years,” he said. “I never thought ‘I can’t wait to get out of Pocatello.’ It’s been a good place to live, raise my family here, it’s been a good job, it’s just a good thing and so I thank the community, I thank the police department, I thank my family, my wife.”

Felsman said now that he’s retired he plan to take some time to relax and enjoy some his hobbies, like hunting and fishing. He said he also plans to serve and LDS mission with his wife.