Kalispell Police Department Detective Karen Webster was recently honored in Bozeman as the Officer of the Year by the Montana Association of Chiefs of Police.

Webster, a Whitefish native, is the daughter of long-time Whitefish Chief of Police Louis Webster, who retired from the force after many years.

Webster said her dad, who died in 2012, inspired her to get into police work. She still keeps a framed collection of his badges in her office.

“I was 18 when I told him, but getting into law enforcement [in 1993] was pretty difficult,” Webster said. “We’re pretty rare,” she said of female officers. “It’s been a challenge for me.

“It’s very complex — the social aspect, internal politics, the external things. I really work at the physical side of it, the shooting.”

Webster’s supervisor, Doug Overman, Kalispell Police’s investigations captain, nominated her for the award.

“We’re just amazingly happy and she absolutely deserves it,” Overman said. “To be able to celebrate what she does is a great source of pride for us. Karen is an amazing asset to our county and our kids.”

Webster primarily investigates sex offenses, including crimes against children.

“It’s very demanding working with child victims, but Karen has a way with it that few do. She has exceptional intelligence and her tenacity really sets her apart,” Overman said.

Webster said being nominated by Overman for the award “was pretty cool.”

“It was completely not on my radar. I still can’t believe that I won,” Webster said. “He did the job before me and he’s been super supportive. Doug has genuinely got to know me and everyone here. He’s a true blessing.”

Webster said that for her, investigating sex crimes comes from the heart.

“There are some really tough ones, some real tear-jerkers, and it’s important for young kids to know they have people in their corner that care about them and are fighting for them,” she said.

Coming out of high school, Webster opted to join the Navy and did a five-year hitch. She became a linguist, specializing in foreign languages, specifically Farsi, the primary language of Iran. She met her first husband in the service.

They had two children together and Webster worked in California as a quality assurance manager and transcription key manager at a Naval satellite center.

After separating from her first husband, Webster returned home to Whitefish. But she wasn’t sure about what to do next.

Her sister told her the sheriff’s office was hiring. But she didn’t think she could do it with two kids.

“But my sister said she’d watch the kids. I applied and they liked what they saw and I went into the sheriff reserve program,” Webster said.

Though she was working another job at the time, when the business closed, she went to the employment office and saw that the Kalispell Police Department was hiring.

When then-chief Frank Garner called to hire her, Webster described the moment as “one of my most elated memories of my life.”

The new job brought a big lifestyle change.

“It was a huge adaption for me. I was shy and reserved, but that changed because there is so much human interaction in this work,” Webster said.

She worked as a patrol officer for nearly two years before becoming a school resource officer at middle schools and Flathead High School for three years.

She returned to the patrol for awhile before becoming a detective in February 2015.

‘I really like what I’m doing,’ Webster said. I’m doing something rewarding, something worthwhile.”

Webster met her second husband in 2005 and they’ve been married for five years now. Her family includes three children aged 18, 14 and 6.

“It’s a busy life,” she said, but it’s also “a very full amazing life and I am grateful for my blessings.”

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.