Post Falls police chief search stalls as mayor weighs finalists

Post Falls remained without a permanent police chief as Mayor Randy Westlund reviewed the final candidates, leaving Capt. Mark Brantl to run day-to-day command in the department. City Attorney Field Harrington said the candidates were still being assessed and indicated Westlund would likely bring forward a name for City Council consideration soon, but no final choice had been made.

The long search began after Chief Greg McLean announced his retirement in October 2025, ending 36 years in law enforcement and 30 years with the Post Falls Police Department. The city said at the time that Jason Mealer would serve as interim chief during the recruitment process, but the arrangement changed again in April. City staff confirmed on April 23, 2026, that Mealer was no longer employed by the city, and the department entered another stretch of uncertainty with Brantl as acting chief.

The final two names under review were Mealer and Stu Miller, a former Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office employee. That narrowed field showed the search had reached beyond a simple internal succession plan and into a broader test of who could steady a department that has already absorbed multiple transitions. A March records request showed the position had been open for six months, underscoring how long the city had been operating without a settled chain of command.

Westlund’s role carries particular weight because Post Falls city government identifies the mayor as the chief administrative official, while the council serves as the elected legislative and policy body. Westlund, the city’s 38th mayor, was elected in 2026 and is serving a term from 2026 through 2029. His eventual nomination will still need council review, making the process a two-step test of executive judgment and legislative approval.

For residents, the question is not just who gets the job, but whether the department can project stability while the city keeps growing. Post Falls has been among Idaho’s fastest-growing cities in recent Census-related reporting, and that makes police leadership more visible and more consequential. Brantl, who joined Post Falls Police in 1998 after earlier law enforcement work that included a summer as a marine deputy with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, is now the face of that stability until Westlund forwards a nominee and the council acts. The clearest measure of progress will be a prompt nomination, a public council review, and no further disruption in command.