Juneau Police Department Chief Bryce Johnson, hired four years ago to replace retiring Chief Greg Browning, is one of four finalists for a position in Idaho.
The city of Idaho Falls is looking to replace its retiring police chief and has narrowed down the pool of candidates to four finalists that include Johnson, according to the Idaho Falls Post Register. The position in Idaho Falls, which has a population of 56,813, offers a salary range of $100,355 to $150,534. The four finalists will go through another interview in June and the city reportedly hopes to make a selection soon thereafter.
On Friday, Johnson told the Empire family is a big part of the reason for potentially making such a move, saying, “Idaho Falls is close to where my grandkids are, so that’s a pull.”
“I will tell you, I love the Juneau Police Department and I love Juneau,” he said. “I have no issues here, this is a great bunch of people. … I’m a little torn, to be honest. We’ll see what happens.”
Johnson has been Juneau’s police chief since June 2013; his base salary in 2015 was $122,250.
City manager Rorie Watt said Johnson is a pleasure to work with, joking, “I told him I hope he doesn’t get the job.”
On a more serious note, Watt said, “I really like his approach, he’s been good for the community and he’s a great communicator. I hope I don’t have to look for a new chief.”
Johnson came to Juneau from the Salt Lake City Police Department. He has a masters degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University and also spent time as an intelligence specialist for the U.S. Naval Reserve and teaching criminal justice to high schoolers at the Salt Lake City School District.
