Ride-alongs went a long way for new police chief
In 1987 Corky McQuiston, a criminal justice student at Alexandria Technical College, got the chance to go on ride-alongs with now retired Brainerd Police officer Tom Mehr.
It was during those patrols that McQuiston realized he wanted to be a police officer and he wanted to work for the city of Brainerd.
"I really recognized that was the job I wanted to do," McQuiston said. "You see the glamour and exciting things about police work on TV, but when you get the exposure to the realistic part, like I did on those ride-alongs, that's what interested me.
"Originally, and it's stayed that way throughout my career, I like helping people. The core of the job is helping people and that's the attraction that's been there for me over the years."
More than 20 years later, McQuiston's goal has been realized and then some. He's risen from patrol officer, to sergeant, to deputy police chief and now is Brainerd's newest chief of police.
Mayor James Wallin recommended hiring McQuiston as police chief not just because he knows McQuiston is up to the task but because he knows him personally; the previous police chief, John Bolduc, recommended McQuiston for the position; and the city would save money in the long run by promoting from within and leaving a position vacant instead of hiring someone from the outside.
Brainerd's new police chief, Corky McQuiston, has risen through the ranks at the Brainerd Police Department, starting as a road officer in 1996.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
"He's conscientious, fair and I think he has respect of the people in the department," Wallin said.
However, being the city's top law enforcement officer wasn't McQuiston's ambition out of college. A native of Crosby, McQuiston, 43, wanted a job with the Brainerd Police Department after college but he also had to start paying his bills. In 1988 he said he was fortunate to get a job with Crow Wing County Sheriff's boat and water patrol. A few months later he became a jailer and a year after that a full-time road deputy.
McQuiston said he enjoyed working as a sheriff's deputy because of the independent nature of the job, patrolling a bigger territory and being exposed to a wide variety of people.
He stayed with the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department until 1996, working under sheriff's Frank Ball and Dick Ross.
"I wasn't looking for an opening at the police department. I have to admit, it wasn't an easy decision leaving the sheriff's department, either. I really liked the job, I worked with some great people there and had some good friends," McQuiston said. "It wasn't an easy decision but at the time, though, was that thing in back of mind, that I was originally drawn to the police department."
McQuiston was hired by Ball to be a patrol officer in 1996. It was Ball who also hired McQuiston to the sheriff's department six years earlier.
McQuiston never aspired to the chief's position. When he was hired as a police officer, McQuiston said he was asked by Ball where he saw himself going in the department. McQuiston responded that he liked the captain position, which allowed a blend of administration and police work.
In 2004, when the captain's position was eliminated and the deputy police chief position created, McQuiston fulfilled that wish. It was a position he thought he would stay in, and he looked forward to working for years under Bolduc. In May, Bolduc took a position as chief of Harbor Police with the Unified Port of San Diego and McQuiston was named interim police chief.
For the past couple of years, Bolduc had planted the seed that McQuiston could one day be police chief, McQuiston said, and he believes his work as deputy chief has well prepared him for the position. McQuiston said he plans to be a visible police chief like Bolduc.
"I'm a firm believer in community-oriented policing," McQuiston said. "I think in order for that to be a philosophy in an agency it has to come from the top down and that means the chief needs to be involved in the community, be active and be approachable by people."
There will be challenges, McQuiston said. The department is down four officers, has fewer community service officers and no longer employs a crime prevention specialist. There's also budget cuts which have reduced equipment and training funds.
"The challenge is to continue delivering the same level of service to the community with a reduced staff and reduced budget," McQuiston said. "That's going to be tough but it's not just us going through it."
McQuiston, his wife and two children have roots in the community, McQuiston said, and the chief of police position is one he hopes he is able to retire from.
"I have no intention of moving anywhere," McQuiston said. "I like this area too much."
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.