Coker to begin new job in Helena

Former Libby chief of police Clay Coker will start a new job next week in Helena, a recently formed position under the Montana Peace Officers Standards and Training bureau.

Coker will be a compliance specialist, visiting the state’s law enforcement agencies to check that they are following POST polices and laws that relate to hiring officers and officer training, qualifications and certification. He will also educate agency administrators on policy and assist in investigations of officer misconduct.

POST is a bureau of the Justice Department’s Division of Criminal Investigation.

“Having been in law enforcement administration for so long, it will be pretty easy for me to know when something’s not being done,” Coker said about his new duties.

Coker applied for the position and had his first interview with the POST Council over the phone from Afghanistan. After resigning as Libby police chief in August, he spent three months working as a professional mentor to a general in the Afghan National Civil Order Police. He returned to Montana for a face-to-face interview with the council and starts the job Monday.

Coker was accepted into the University of Montana’s School of Law, but decided to hold off for now.

“I decided to put it on hold till I get more of the kids out of the house,” Coker said. “Being a full-time student with three full-time students in the house would be more of a challenge than I thought.”