Spending most of his three decades-long career in law enforcement as a police captain ain’t bad for a former Army cook.

Tuesday, June 27, 2000

Spending most of his three decades-long career in law enforcement as a police captain ain’t bad for a former Army cook.

That’s what Brian W. McAlister did.

He graduated from Austin High School in 1964, spent a month "fooling around" and entered the Army for a three-year hitch as a cook.

When he was honorably discharged, he returned to his hometown, worked for the old Milwaukee Railroad for two years as a switchman and then became a police officer.

That was July 6, 1970, and six years later, he took a test for captain in the Austin Police Department. The hometown boy who went from beat patrolman to detective, became the second- highest-ranking officer in the department.

He has served as acting police chief in the absence of current Police Chief Paul M. Philipp and Philipp’s predecessor, Donald Hoffman.

"I have known Brian both as a co-worker and a friend and have always appreciated his assistance and insight on issues facing the department," Philipp said. "His experience and his friendship will be missed."

The vacancy will be posted after McAlister’s last day (Friday) and the testing process will begin.

McAlister’s replacement will come from the ranks of the Austin Police Department, so it comes with a double-edged sword: while the captain’s position will be filled, that will create another vacancy in a department that may be undermanned.

Involved resident

There are many "Brian McAlisters."

There is Brian McAlister, the Salvation Army volunteer.

Every Saturday, McAlister works at the Family Thrift Store. He has done it so long he cannot remember when he started.

He also is a long-time member of the Salvation Army’s advisory board; a position for which Mayor Bonnie Rietz recruited him after they both completed the first Blandin Foundation Community Leadership Training Program.

"It’s good therapy," he said.

There is Brian McAlister, the Austin School Board member.

McAlister served two separate stints on the Austin Board of Education for a total of 13 years until losing a re-election bid last fall.

He said it was a "fruitful experience" and allowed him to be involved with different people than his job as a police captain did.

There is also Brian McAlister, the true believer in the work of the Crime Victims Resource Center.

He was on the original advisory board when the agency was called the Victims Crisis Center.

So, who really is this man, who has protected and served so many for so long?

Son of a meatpacker

His father, Guy, a retired Hormel Foods Corp. plant worker, lives in Austin. His mother, Adeline, is deceased. He has two sisters who live away from here.

He is the father of four children and has three grandchildren.

The only other member of the McAlister family tree who was a peace officer is the legendary C.H. "Red’ McAlister (now deceased), an uncle who was mayor when the village incorporated, and later police chief in Mapleview.

Beyond his experiences as an Army cook and working on the railroad, protecting and serving the public has been his life’s work.

"Bob Nelson was the police chief when I started," McAlister said, "I had an interest in the work and it grew as the job went along."

In those early years, he walked a beat and was a relief driver for patrol units and when opportunity for taking on additional responsibilities beckoned, McAlister recognized it – first, when he was promoted to detective and next when he was promoted to captain.

Of the early years, McAlister says the best part was working with Mower County Department of Human Services’ division of child protection services in handling cases involving children.

"We were able to make some pretty good progress in handling cases of neglect and abuse, which came at a time when we were just becoming aware of how damaging those cases can be to families," he said. "There was better educational efforts at how police can help children."

When he became a captain in 1988, supervisory duties took over: working with patrol supervisors, assigning cases for investigation and following up those investigations.

Through the years, McAlister said he has worked with a "lot of good people who didn’t require people looking over their shoulder all the time."

If the public expects to hear "war stories" from McAlister about the job, they will be disappointed.

"I have no war stories to tell," he said.

On the subject of the most difficult part of his career, McAlister says little, but enough to make it clear the Hormel Foods Corp.’s labor dispute and strike in 1985-1986 was the worst.

Attempting to keep the peace between friends, neighbors and relatives on different sides of the labor dispute took its emotional toll on the peacekeepers, according to McAlister.

Changes keep coming

He is diplomatic in talking about how the city provides for public safety needs. The department’s personnel shortages and those of the Austin-Mower County Law Enforcement Center are well-known, but the closest McAlister comes to criticism is to observe.

"If I said the department didn’t need more people, I’d be lying," he said.

There was a time, when 2 a.m. came to Austin and the entire city was quiet, but "not any more," according to McAlister. "Today, the night shifts are continually busy all night long."

Still, he stops short of saying he is burnt-out and observed, "Today’s police have to take care of the people, because that’s their job."

But, that involves so many more things today than police officers of the non-so-distant-past did and today there also are cultural differences and language issues for officers to face.

"These changes keep coming at you," he said.

One duty McAlister said he believes is tantamount to peacekeeping is handling domestic abuse issues.

"It never seems to end," McAlister said of domestic abuse in a bit of mocking surprise. Turning strictly serious, he said, "The same names keep coming up all the time and that means the same victims. The children of these people."

McAlister doesn’t deny drugs are a problem in Austin and elsewhere, but he says alcohol is a worse problem.

"Alcohol is far and away the No. 1 problem and especially in domestic abuse incidents," he said. "And, secondly, the next most serious problem is the children who suffer from all of that foolishness. Kids are becoming the weapon of choice of these people. It’s sad and frightening at the same time."

An advice-giver

Becoming a supervisor took him away from his first love – being a street cop – and also changed McAlister from advice-seeker to advice-giver. On the subject of advice, McAlister said it is important to weed good advice from bad.

"Sometimes it was helpful and sometimes it wasn’t," he said. "You learn quickly in this business the things to do and things not to do."

So, how does Brian McAlister, the police captain, want to be remembered?

The question clearly embarrassed McAlister, who is trying to make his last week as low-keyed as possible.

He ponders the question, takes a deep breath and speaks.

"During my time as a citizen of Austin, I have tried to do something useful, to treat people right," he said.

It is nearly the same answer he gives to explaining his involvement with the Salvation Army, Austin Public Schools and the Crime Victims Resource Center.

Which leads one to believe, citizen McAlister did try to be all things to all people and succeeded where others have failed.