LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has announced five finalists for the position of Louisville Metro Police chief.
The finalists were announced on the Mayor's Facebook page Friday morning:
- Steve Conrad, Chief of Police in Glendale, Ariz. and former LMPD assistant chief
- Yvette Gentry, LMPD Deputy Chief / Patrol Bureau Commander
- Vincent Robison, LMPD Deputy Chief and Chief of Staff
- Rick Sanders, Chief of the Jeffersontown Police Department
- Glenn Skeens, Chief of Police in Owensboro, Ky.
Steve Conrad is a former assistant chief with LMPD but has been the Chief of Police in Glendale, Arizona for the last six years. Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders has one of the most diversified resumes. He's the only candidate to have federal experience, spending 24 years with the Drug Enforcement Agency.
"If you wanted to go with a more seasoned veteran and a guy that's got some worldly experience and having those relationships in different communities across this country, Rick Sanders is a great forerunner in regards of that kind of experience," says Chris 2X with Fight Crimes Against Children. The activist says he's pleased with the list of candidates, believing they're all qualified.
Chief Glenn Skeens is the only candidate who has not worked in Louisville, spending his whole career with the Owensboro police department. The Owensboro mayor says Skeens is capable of handling a bigger department.
"The issues to some extent are the same, there might be more of them in a bigger city," says Mayor Ron Payne. "I hope what Glenn could bring to the job is maybe looking at ways to reduce those crime rates."
In regards to the last two candidate, Chris 2X says, "If you want two individuals that have been a part of changing at LMPD since they merged, Yvette Gentry and Vince Robison bring that to the table."
Gentry and Robison also seem to be the most polarizing. Since the mayor used Twitter and Facebook to make the announcement, WDRB went to LMPD's website to get reaction from those within the department. Of the only female candidate, one writes,"No way…to [sic] vindictive." "She will not pass muster and will be an albatross," writes another." But others praise her for her beat and police work. As for Robison, insiders on that website say he's the most respected but critics call "him sneaky and does his dirt quietly."
"I think if you're looking at the opportunity to bring in new fresh leadership, then some could think from that perspective," says 2X.
The mayor's statement also explained how The Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville vetted the candidates. The group was hired to oversee a four-step process to determine a new chief. Meetings were held by each council member in their district and the police institute used data from those gatherings to develop common community concerns. In addition, a 15-to-20 person panel of criminal justice officials and stakeholders — including the Fraternal Order of Police — was asked for its input.
Each applicant was required to submit an extensive paper in which he or she answered questions about leadership, strategic planning, crime control, and community policing and involvement, among other things.
A four-member team screened applicants. That team consisted of Deborah Keeling, chair of the Department of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville; Southern Police Institute Assistant Director Cynthia Shain; a local CEO identified by the Police Foundation, Mark Bidner of RecoverCare; the police chief in Arlington, Texas, Therone Bowman; and an assistant chief from Tampa, Florida, Mark Hamlin.
The mayor will personally interview all five candidates in the coming weeks and he plans to have a new chief in place by April 1st.
Former Kentucky State Police Commissioner Ishmon Burks was named the Louisville Metro Police Department's interim chief in December of last year.
Burks is also an assistant professor and academic coordinator of criminal justice at Jefferson Community and Technical College, and a former vice president at Spalding University. He has taken a leave of absence from his JCTC job to lead LMPD. Burks has said he is not interested in becoming the full-time chief.
[Click here for an earlier story on Ishmon Burks]
Former Chief Robert White left to lead Denver's police force. White headed LMPD for nine years, and oversaw the merger of the Louisville and Jefferson County departments.
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