Missoula’s interim police chief officially took the helm at the Missoula Police Department on June 12 after being appointed by the city.

NBC Montana’s Kylie Gibson sat down with Chief Mike Colyer for a one-on-one interview to find out what his top priorities are.

Colyer was born and raised in Missoula. He is a 27-year veteran of the Missoula Police Department and has been serving as interim police chief since March.

Colyer is ready to take on the leadership role and says he is eager to improve the department.

“One thing I'm interested in looking at is evaluating our organization. So our organization chart has some imbalances between the captains, and our patrol captain has a lot of work. There is just a volume there that is hard to maintain. So I'm interested in dividing those duties a little bit between patrol and detectives into more of an operational type of bureau or division,” said Colyer.

NBC Montana asked Colyer what his main priorities are in his new role.

“There's no reform needed here. I've inherited a great team that operates absolutely professionally and honestly, and there's no reform that is needed, but to me, I'm going to kind of double down on ethical standard stuff. Because as good a job as we do, now more than ever, it's just critical that people trust law enforcement across the nation,” said Colyer.

He says what this department does impacts law enforcement officers all around the country, so he believes integrity and honesty of the officers is crucial.

When asked what his No. 1 concern is with the city of Missoula right now, he said the homelessness crisis for many reasons.

NBC Montana; “What are you most concerned about, public safety or the homeless crisis in general?”

Colyer: “Public safety is always No. 1. As people are living on the streets, they run the risk of being victimized by other people, as well. Categorizing the homeless as always the offenders is not always the case. So it can be unsafe just out sleeping unsheltered as is. So that is where we will always focus our attention. And then as we can supplement and be a part of the solution with the rest of the city department and the rest of our community on the broader issue, we are happy to do that.”

Colyer says he is proud of one thing specifically within the department: “The trust that we have created within the community. We treat people well, and we are very technically capable, so I think people trust us to handle major crimes and solve major crimes but also to be compassionate and understanding and be a problem-solving partner with the rest of the city government.”

Colyer will assume official duties on June 12.

Colyer attended the University of Montana and North Idaho College, where he earned a degree in law enforcement. He worked as a police officer for the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Police Department from 1994 to 1996 before returning to Missoula to begin his career with the Missoula Police Department.

As a patrol officer, Colyer was a motorcycle officer in the traffic unit and worked as field training officer before being promoted to sergeant in 2001.

He supervised uniformed patrol teams, the traffic unit and the street crimes unit.

Colyer was promoted to lieutenant in 2008 and served in the Office of Professional Standards, where he was responsible for citizen complaint investigation, internal investigations, recruiting and new officer hiring.

In 2011, he graduated from the 244th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Later that year, he was promoted to captain and assigned to the Detective Division.

A significant accomplishment in that position was his role in guiding the Missoula Police Department’s work with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the department’s response to sexual assault.

In 2022, Colyer transferred to his current assignment as the administrative captain, where he oversees the Office of Professional Standards, the property and evidence unit, the records unit, police support specialists and training.

Colyer has held many collateral duties along the way, such as being a SWAT operator, SWAT team leader and the tactical operations commander. He has also been an instructor in chemical agent, impact weapons, TASER and use of force.

Colyer was one of the first drug recognition experts and drug recognition expert instructors in Montana and was Drug Evaluation and Classification Program coordinator, agency coordinator and state coordinator.

Colyer is married and has two children in college. He enjoys hunting, fishing, cycling, running and spending time on Flathead Lake.