© 2024 WOSU Public Media
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

36 People Apply To Become Columbus' Next Police Chief

Columbus Police cruiser vehicle
Adora Namigadde
/
WOSU

The City of Columbus released the names of applicants to the vacant police chief position. Thirty-six people applied to become the next Columbus Police chief.

The chosen candidate will replace Kim Jacobs, who retired in February. The department says she had reached the maximum time allowed in the "Deferred Retirement Option Program."

Notable candidates include: Washington, D.C. Assistant Chief of Police Samuel Dotson, Detroit Police Department Captain Kyra Joy Hope and Columbus Interim Police Chief Tom Quinlan. There are two internal candidates in addition to Quinlan.

The entire list of candidates includes:

  • Michael Biasello, Director of Safety, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
  • Robert Clark, International Law Enforcement/Security Consultant, Simi Valley, California
  • Joel Fitzgerald, Senior Executive Consultant, Ft. Worth, Texas
  • Andrew Folk, Operator, Pataskala, Ohio
  • Dwayne Fries, Building Engineer (through August 2019), Columbus, Ohio
  • David Frisone, Lake County Narcotics Agency Executive Director, Painesville, Ohio
  • Garrik Haynes, Kansas City Police Department Operations Sergeant, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Jeffrey Hollabaugh, Master Deputy Sheriff, Montclair, Virgina
  • Tyrone Johnson, Correctional Officer, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
  • Alexander Jones, Baltimore County Police Department Colonel & Chief of Community Relations Bureau, Towson, Maryland
  • Carlos Kelly, Chief of Police, Landsdowne, Pennslyvania
  • Michael Kreher, Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Jason Lando, Police Commander, Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania
  • Paul Neudigate, Assistant Police Chief, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Mary Paradis, Interim Chief of Police, Vienna, Virginia
  • Marcus Overton, Police Office, Romulus, Michigan
  • Richard Pearson, Assistant Professor, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Michael Pelfrey, Assistant Chief of Police (through June 2018), North Port, Florida
  • Edward Reynolds, Chief of Police/Director of Ministers, Bossier City, Louisana
  • Todd Richardson, Former Sheriff of Davis County, Farmington, Utah
  • Samuel Ronan, Maintenance Technician, Lancaster, Ohio
  • Eric Scharf, Maintenance Supervisor, Niles, Ohio
  • Anthony Schembri, University of Florida Professor of Criminology, Gainesville, Florida
  • Shannon Schmid, Police Officer, Columbus, Ohio
  • Larry Scirotto, Former Assistant Chief, Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania
  • Darren Sroufe, Director of Safety, Newburgh, Indiana
  • Robert Strausbaugh, Columbus Division of Police Commander, Columbus, Ohio
  • Perry Tarrant, Seattle Police Department Former Assistant Chief, Seattle, Washington
  • Crystal Tope, Teacher of Martial Arts, Westerville, Ohio
  • Brandon Upchurch, Case Manager (through September 2018), Columbus, Ohio
  • LaTesha Watson, Henderson Police Department Former Chief of Police, Henderson, Nevada
  • Jason Woodall, Analyst/Driver, Columbus, Ohio

This search marks the first time the city has looked outside its own ranks for a candidate to fill the spot.
Next, the search committee will review and decide who to interview. The city's website says the new chief should be selected by the beginning of next year.

Adora Namigadde was a reporter for 89.7 NPR News. She joined WOSU News in February 2017. A Michigan native, she graduated from Wayne State University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in French.