Independence Appoints Lau as Next Police Chief

Independence has appointed its next police chief.

The Independence City Council passed a resolution at its meeting on Tuesday night to appoint Captain Brian Lau as the City’s next police chief. 

Lau will assume the role following the scheduled retirement of current Police Chief David Niedert. 

Chief Niedert is set to retire after a distinguished career in law enforcement spanning several decades. Niedert began his career in 1988 as a civilian jailer for the Buchanan County Sheriff’s office while still in college. In 1989, he was hired by the Denver, Iowa Police Department, where he worked until 1991, when he joined the Independence Police Department. He was promoted to Patrol Sergeant in 1996. In 2000, he took a leave of absence to serve as a United Nations police officer in the former Yugoslavian Republic of Kosovo, returning in 2001. He remained with the department until 2016, when the Oelwein Police Department hired him as a First Lieutenant. In 2021, he returned to the Independence Police Department as Chief of Police.

Chief Niedert says he is proud of the work they have accomplished as a department. He says he has full confidence in Captain Lau’s ability to lead the Independence Police Department into its next chapter.

Captain Brian Lau, a native of Oelwein, graduated from Oelwein High School in 1997. He then attended Hawkeye Community College, earning an Applied Science Degree in Police Science. Lau started his law enforcement career with the New Hampton Police Department in 1999 as a Police Officer and attended the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Johnston. In 2001, he accepted a position with the Independence Police Department as a Police Officer. During his time with the department, Lau has served as a field training officer, a field sobriety instructor, a Radar/Lidar instructor, and represented the patrol officers as the Union Steward for many years. He was promoted to the position of Patrol Sergeant in 2019, where he supervised the night shift patrol. In 2020, Brian was promoted to his current rank of Patrol Captain, overseeing the Patrol and Investigation Division. 

A formal change of command ceremony will be announced at a later date.

photo courtesy of City of Independence