Officer who ‘stood out for community involvement’
named GV police chief
One applicant promoted to sergeant,
another resigns
By Ben Lasseter
Staff writer
12-16-2020
Following the announcement of Chief Brett McCall’s retirement last month, Seth Hendrickson has been appointed to take over leadership of the Gunnison Valley Police Department (GVPD) at the start of the new year.
Hendrickson will serve as interim chief until Friday, Jan. 1 when he will officially take over. In the meantime, McCall is handling some administrative responsibilities, but he has largely stepped away from his duties at the department in a leave of absence, according to Hendrickson.
“I was born and raised here in Gunnison,” Hendrickson said. “I want to have a hand in putting a crew of guys together that’s going treat people the way that I like to see law enforcement interact with people.”
Hendrickson began his career in 2013 with the Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy, following training at the Dixie State University academy. He started working at GVPD in 2017, when Gunnison City and Centerfield merged police departments. He has worked as a patrol officer.
The GVPD Governing Board made their decision to hire Hendrickson last Wednesday, after two closed executive sessions interviewing and reviewing applicants.
Keith Garff, chairman of the board, said the board spent “two hours deliberating” after final interviews from Hendrickson, Officer Tyler Donaldson, a GVPD officer of seven years who spent seven years with the sheriff’s office before that, and Carl Wimmer, the former Gunnison Valley school resources officer with nearly 30 years in law enforcement, who also served in the Utah House of Representatives.
“All three of them were just stand up, but Seth just stood out for his involvement in the community,” Garff said.
Wimmer resigned shortly after the decision. Donaldson has been promoted to sergeant.
Hendrickson commended the work Donaldson has done at the department and said he looked forward to having his continued presence on the force, particularly to help find candidates to fill the vacancies.
“With my comrade Sgt. Donaldson, I am excited for the opportunity to hire two new officers that we can choose with specific skill sets and personalities to serve our communities in the best way possible,” Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson was the handling officer of Duke, a K-9 drug-sniffing dog and the most recent addition to the department in October. He said the dog needs more personal care and attention than he can offer while he is serving as chief, and they will find a new officer to take on the role of handler.
“We’re going find somebody that can match his energy level and put him to work,” Hendrickson said.
“With the new chief you have new opportunities, new vision,” Garff said. “We’re excited to see the level that Seth will take the new department to.”
