Tallahassee police chief position brings in 52 candidates from near and far

Tallahassee Police Chief Michael Deleo Resigns
Photo courtesy WTXL.com

The search for Tallahassee Police Department’s new police chief has brought in 52 applicants from places as far as Chicago. The list of official applicants was released on Tallahassee Government’s home page by the Police Chief’s Association.

The posted salary for the job is between $156,000 to $173,000 based on qualifications. Applications were accepted between August 9 and September 12.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, The Florida Police Chief Association Education and Research Foundation STARS program is being paid $25,000 to conduct the search for applicants to replace DeLeo, who resigned in June.

The city is looking for a candidate who identifies as “a quality-of-life oriented individual who can create and nurture strong, professional relationships/partnerships in areas of law enforcement, business, service agencies, and neighborhood and faith-based communities,” according to the job description.

STARS Law Enforcement Experts, Retired Police Chief and City Manager Jim Gabbard and Retired Assistant FDLE Commissioner Jim Sewell, released the first round of examinations through resumes and composed a list of 20 candidates of who they considered fit for the position.

The Community Partners Committee will review the resumes of the 20 candidates and narrow down a selection of the top three. The committee consists of religious, business, and law groups in the community of Tallahassee.

Chief Terence Calloway, Public Safety Officer of Florida A&M University was selected to serve as a voter and member of the committee.

“I don’t know what to expect going into the process because this is my first year participating,” said Chief Calloway. “But there’s always some excitement because we work closely with Tallahassee Police Department so I am excited to form a relationship with whoever the police chief may be.”

Other organizations serving on the committee include Tallahassee Mothers Demand Action, Tallahassee Urban League, and the Chief of Florida State University’s Public Safety Office.

The position has attracted current and retired police chiefs, jail staff, and various law enforcement officials from across the nation and right here in Tallahassee. One of those being the current TPD Interim Police Chief Steve Outlaw.

Outlaw previously stated that he did not have an interest in applying for the position but had no comments on his decision to change his mind after his name was seen on the list of official applicants.

The next part of the selection process will be a meet and greet segment which allows citizens of the community to see the candidate’s ability to interact with the public as well as allowing the candidate to become familiar with Tallahassee and the police department.

More information on the selection process for the police chief positions as well as the full list of candidates can be found at www.talgov.com/publicsafety/TPDChiefofPolice