Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke speaks to the media from the U.S. Attorneys Office in Chattanooga in this Nov. 4, 2013, file photo.Scenic City seeks: professional, trustworthy police chief who will work with the community to foster new partnerships; applicant must inspire officers by example and spell out clear expectations; transparency is a must; successful experience implementing David Kennedy’s crime reduction programs is preferred.
Those are among the qualities that groups made up of officers, prosecutors, pastors, Chattanooga City Council members and Mayor Andy Berke’s staff asked for from a research organization — Police Executive Research Forum — which sent a recruiting consultant to Chattanooga for a couple of days last week.
The consultant will compile the information into a job description that will be posted in employment listings of national police organizations as well as in city postings.
A description is expected to be drafted by Thursday; Chattanooga’s police chief is expected to be chosen by April.
As many as 62 people from the police department met with the consultant last week, among them female officers, captains and lieutenants, sergeants, civilian employees, interim command staff members and union representatives.