Bowman tabbed as new police chief

By Neal Hogden

The Cities of Abbotsford and Colby will be seeing a familiar face at the helm of the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department. Lieutenant Alex Bowman has been chosen as the newest police chief after current chief Jason Bauer retires on February 1, 2024.

Bowman is a 7-year veteran of the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department and has served as Lieutenant with the department. Bowman was experienced in supervising law enforcement activity and investigations while at the police department. He has also been involved in the hiring process for new officers at the department.

The decision was made at the October 16 police commission meeting as representatives from both Colby and Abbotsford interviewed four candidates, including Bowman, for the position in closed session. The Abbotsford and Colby city councils then accepted the contract with Bowman at their respective council meetings earlier this week. Bowman said he is excited about the opportunity he has to work as chief of police in part because of what Bauer has built with the department. “We have a very unique police department. We don’t have a lot of drama. We don’t have any problems,” Bowman said. “All our officers get along. All our officers are friends with one another. It’s unheard of for a police department to operate that way. Chief Bauer did a great job creating that type of environment.” Bowman also served as a member of the United States Marine Corps from 2010 to 2017. He said his military experience is something that has prepared him well for a leadership role in law enforcement.

“I think it’s the leadership quality that comes with being trained in the military,” Bowman said. “The military does a great job at bringing up leaders. They notice leaders and put those people in positions where they can lead other Marines for example. The Corporals course and Sergeant’s Course contains stuff that you can apply to law enforcement or any other job.”

Bowman said a big part of his motivation to be the best officer he can be comes from earning the respect of his peers.

“To be able to earn the respect of other officers and those in the military and the marines, that’s where I get my motivation to lead well,” Bowman said. “If the guys I’m leading don’t like me or respect me, then I feel like I’ve failed them as a leader.”

Abbotsford approved the motion to accept Bowman as the new police chief with a unanimous vote on Monday, Nov. 6 while the City of Colby approved Bowman as the newest chief at its monthly city council meeting on November 7.

Bowman said he is excited to get to work and is thankful

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Alex Bowman Police chief

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that he is inheriting a good situation.

“I’m thankful that I’m being handed a well-organized police department. There’s no problems that I have to address right away and [Jason] has done a great job setting me up for success.”

With the addition of a full-time school resource officer to the force, Bowman will be tasked with filling a spot vacated by Brandon Nelson as well as Bauer’s spot in the coming months. Bowman said he has been participating in the hiring process in the past few years and is prepared to take on the challenge of getting new bodies in the department. He said when he was hired on at the CAPD, the department was one of the only places that was hiring. He said now, the tables have turned and hring has become a challenge for departments. However, he is confident that the department provides an attractive opportunity for prospective officers because of the atmosphere that the current officers have created.

“They are all very proactive officers that we have here. We like arresting bad guys, finding drugs, OWIs and all other things. So it’s a very unique police department and I’m very happy to lead these guys,” Bowman said.

Bowman said with his elevation into the police chief role, current K9 officer James Wagner will be stepping into the role of Lieutenant while officer Eric English will be stepping into the K9 officer role.

Another one of Bowman’s strengths comes in the form of communication. He said he was a former reserve deputy for Clark County and has good relationships with Sheriff Scott Haines, Chief Deputy Jim Hirsch and others on the Clark County side of things.

Bauer will be stepping down after nearly 28 years with the department. He said he will be around to help transition the new chief into the position but hopes to spend more time with friends and family in retirement. He also said his goal is to be working at a golf course in the future.

Bauer said the police commission has made a terrific choice despite receiving four quality candidates for the position.

“I think he’s going to do a great job,” Bauer said. “It was very easy for Alex because he came with so many skills from the military. It’s going to be a smooth transition.”

Bowman said he has been partially trained for the job already and said he will be working with Bauer until his retirement to learn the ins and outs of what he doesn’t already know about being a police chief.

“When [Bauer] has not been here, I have done his job for the past two years,” Bowman said. “I know the administration side of it and the leadership part of it. Some of the things he and I are currently working on is budgeting stuff. I have never handled that stuff so that would be the only new thing that I’d be taking on as chief.”

As far as investigations go, Bowman said he will gradually have Wagner take on the role of investigator as they get more bodies in the building. He praised Wagner for the leadership roles he has taken on within the department and said he was excited to see what other roles Wagner could take on in his new position.