Whitefish appoints Conway as new deputy chief of police

Some of the responsibilities of a deputy chief of police are hiring, mentoring and training younger officers. Whitefish’s new Deputy Chief Kevin Conway feels these are very important steps and that they are largely overlooked. He said that these elements are what pave the way for long-term employees and positive employees.

“One of the things I've always enjoyed, especially as I've progressed through the supervision ranks, is guiding new officers,” Conway said. “Guiding, mentoring and training new officers is very appealing to me.”

The City of Whitefish recently promoted Sergeant Conway to Deputy Chief of Police. He brings to the job 18 years of experience, including seven years of service in Whitefish along with a real respect and appreciation for the area.

Conway began his career in law enforcement in 2004 when he joined the Hanover Police Department in Chicago, Illinois. He was promoted to sergeant in 2010 and worked there until 2015 when he headed back to Montana and began working with the Whitefish Police Department.

He worked as a patrol officer with the WPD for two years before being promoted to sergeant in 2017 and was appointed deputy chief of police on April 8.

During last week’s City Council meeting, Mayor Muhlfeld extended his congratulations to Deputy Chief Conway and told Chief Kelch that Conway is “a great addition to your crew.”

Although there can be negative feelings about police in the country, Conway noted the Whitefish Police Department feels supported by the community and the relationship that’s been built over the years is a good one.

“My goal as the deputy chief is really to maintain the positive relationship we already have with the community,” Conway said. “We work well with the community and I want to make sure that, not only does that continue, but it increases and I think we can do that, especially with the guidance of Police Chief Bridger Kelch.”

World-class fly fishing is what lured Conway to Montana for college. He attended the University of Montana in Missoula, earned his degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminology and spent numerous hours outside, casting and double-hauling in one of Missoula’s many rivers.

“Fly fishing in western Montana is heaven. There’s no better,” Conway said, smiling.

After school, he returned to Illinois and started work with the suburban Chicago police force in Hanover.

“It was different there. A different demographic. There was a lot of violent crime and gang activity. I learned a lot,” Conway said.

One of the things he learned was that although he was just an hour from where he grew up, it was not somewhere he wanted to raise his family and he “missed Montana so much.”

Now, Conway, his wife and two children are part of the Whitefish community. They like to ski, fish and enjoy Montana’s outdoors together.

“We float the river a lot on the raft and go on Whitefish lake,” he said. “My son is a phenomenal skier. He’s 8 years old and he can go anywhere I can.”

It is clear that Conway is happy with the decision he made to raise his family in Montana by the smile that rarely leaves his face. He credits his ease and happiness with his career, family and community to the positive environment here.

“This community is different. We’re lucky to have this kind of environment.” Conway added. “It’s not like this everywhere.”

The environment within the police department is a plus for Conway, too, because of the camaraderie and dedication to common goals.

“I’ve never seen a police department that has such a team environment like it does here. Everybody seems to fit in well, they mesh well and work together and get along,” he said. “Almost everybody here has similar interests. Everybody’s either a hunter, fisherman, or skier.”