Crookston Police Chief Paul Biermaier will be retiring on February 28, 2022, after 32 years of service. At a City Council meeting earlier this week, the council voted to appoint Lietunant Darin Selzler to take his place effective March 1, 2022.
Biermaier and Selzler have worked closely over the past few years and even closer as the time for Biermaier to retire has drawn near. Selzler says he is honored for the opportunity and has been blessed to learn from someone like Biermaier. “I’m very appreciative of this opportunity, and I’ve been blessed to work with Chief Biermaier over the years,” said Selzler. “We’ve been working closely over the years together and even closer with the transition coming up. I’m excited about the chance, and I’m looking forward to serving the City of Crookston.”
As for Biermaier, he couldn’t be happier knowing he is leaving his job to someone like Selzler. “I’m honestly relieved that someone like him is taking over,” said Biermaier. “He’s going to have his ideas, and I’m excited to see what those will be. One of the biggest challenges he’ll face is recruitment. He’s already been working on that hard and been more of the operational guy while I’ve dealt with more of the paperwork. It’s a new day and age in law enforcement, and with the department we have, I think Darin will build on that, and I’m excited to work with him the next two months.”
Selzler noted that they both have their niches and jobs they currently do, but he is excited to assume the role and learn more about what the job entails. He discussed some of the challenges he’s anticipating and work that will need to be done in the next two months to make the transition as smooth as possible. “We each have our unique jobs that we currently do, so for me, I think a challenge will be learning more of the budget and how that works,” said Selzler. “It’s more about the ins and outs of his position and just staff relations and different things like that.”
For Biermaier, he said he’s looking forward to retirement and spending more time with family. “When I started in 1990, the old-timers would talk about “back in the day,” and now I’m the old-timer,” said Biermaier. “It’s been a great run, and I’ve been grateful to be able to work every position that I have. There have certainly been a lot of tough situations and calls, but all things considered, I’m happy with it and glad I had the opportunity. Law enforcement can take a lot of time away from family, so I’m looking forward to spending time with my family. My daughters have a list of projects for me to work on, so I’ll be doing that, I guess, until I collect social security someday.”
As for the city, City Administrator Amy Finch is pleased to know Selzler will be the one replacing Biermaier. “I felt that Mr. Selzler would be a great candidate for the Chief of Police position for the City of Crookston,” said Finch. “I got Chief Biermaier’s opinion on that as well, and he was very excited and agreed. They’ve worked closely over the years together and can now work very closely together in the next couple of months to make this transition smooth. Lieutenant Selzler has respect from our community in Crookston and with the officers at the Police Station.”
Finch was pleased to recommend an internal candidate for the position, as that is not always the case. Selzler will begin to attend internal staff meetings over the next couple of months and continue to train closely with Biermaier as they make the transition.
