New deputy to patrol streets of Mineral County

MINERAL COUNTY - The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office recently welcomed a new deputy to the force who took the job after a 15 year hiatus in his law enforcement career.

Michael O’Brien began his career in Idaho as a sheriff’s deputy for eight years before taking a break and going into business for himself.  

O’Brien and his wife ran a real estate and property management firm for 15 years but when the opportunity presented itself to return to law enforcement, he said he didn’t hesitate to relocate to Mineral County. O’Brien said the decision was even easier because he and his wife were familiar with the area.

“We love the area,” O’Brien said. “We’ve been coming over here for years. We consider Western Montana and Northern Idaho to be our home. We have friends over here who we would visit and we just fell in love with the area.”

O’Brien said the primary motivation behind his return to law enforcement was his desire to help the public. He said the opportunity to aid and protect the public again made the decision an easy one.

“I really enjoy helping people,” O’Brien said. “For me it’s about getting out and meeting people and getting out of the car and talking with kids and doing whatever people need me to do. It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a little boy.”

O’Brien said there were several significant differences between law enforcement in Kootenai County in Idaho and Mineral County in Montana.  The primary driver behind the different dynamic according to O’Brien was population.

“Kootenai County has about 150,000 people and here there’s only about 4,000,” O’Brien said. “It changes the job greatly. You’re not handling as many hot calls or calls regarding violence against people all the time.”

The new deputy said the other factor that attracted him and his wife to the area were the people who call this part of the world home. O’Brien said the opportunity to interact with the people of Mineral County on a daily basis was something he found very rewarding.

“The quality of people here is amazing,” O’Brien said. “There’s something about the people here. I’ve lived in a lot of states but here the people are great. It is a good bunch of people that I enjoy being around. There’s a personal aspect with people around here that you don’t get in a big city.”

In his time in Kootenai County, O’Brien said he had the opportunity to wear a wide variety of hats. He said he not only worked patrolling on land but on the water as well.

“I worked in the marine division patrolling the lakes and rivers,” O’Brien said. “I also worked in records and on the street a lot of the time.”

O’Brien said in his time with the MCSO, he expected to engage the community on a personal level. He said his priorities on the job were straightforward.

“I want to meet as many people as I can and do as good a job as I can for Mineral County,” O’Brien said.