Major Chad Colston grew up in the Cedar Rapids area and is a graduate of LaSalle High School. Chad attended Kirkwood Community College and then went on to Kaplan University where he earned an Associate of Arts degree from Kaplan University in Criminal Justice. Chad attended the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and graduated in August of 2016. In addition, Chad has completed the Credible Leadership Courses I-IV and is a Certified Credible Leader through the National Command and Staff College. Major Chad Colston currently oversees the Patrol and Criminal Divisions which is comprised of Uniformed Patrol, Rescue, K-9 and Detective Bureau.
Chad began his career with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office in September of 1995. During his career at the Linn County Sheriff’s Office he has worked in the Jail, Patrol, Civil, and Criminal Divisions. While in the patrol division Chad was partnered with a narcotics detection K-9 in January 2004. Chad went to Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana where he trained for 5 weeks with his K-9 Aron before returning to work nights on patrol as a K-9 handler. Chad worked with his K-9 until March of 2010 when his K-9 partner retired. Chad has continued to be a part of the K-9 Unit as a supervisor which currently has 2 narcotics detection dogs that are cross trained in patrol duties. Chad has been active in raising monetary donations for the K-9 program and continues to offer advice to the K-9 teams.
Chad was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in March of 2010 and assigned to the criminal division to investigate major crimes. In July of 2014, Chad was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned as the Criminal Division Commander overseeing the Detective Bureau until his promotion to Major in August of 2017.