CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The three remaining candidates to be Cleveland's next police chief each said in interviews Wednesday that connecting "face-to-face" with the public would be critical to restoring respect for the department.
Finalists Jessie Brooks, a captain with the Tennessee Highway Patrol; Red Bank police Chief Timothy Christol and interim Cleveland Chief Mark Gibson were interviewed by a four-member selection panel Wednesday morning.
When the panel asked the candidates what they would do to restore the community's respect for the Cleveland Police Department, they were in agreement.
"Actions speak louder than words," said Gibson, stressing that "communication with the public is key."
Changing the perception of the department will require outreach, Brooks said.
"Every officer is a community liaison," Christol noted.
The Cleveland Police Department lost two chiefs - Wes Snyder and Dennis Maddux - in the aftermath of highly publicized sex scandals that occurred less than 18 months apart. A number of officers have been placed under investigation or resigned due to allegations of inappropriate behavior since August.
Asked about the biggest challenges facing the police department, each candidate indicated it was a matter of trust.
The department deserves and needs to win back the community's respect, Brooks said.
"We've got to win that trust back," he said.
Christol and Gibson both said they considered rebuilding trust from within and dealing with internal problems as paramount concerns for the police department.
"They [officers] need to reestablish the trust with each other to do their jobs," Christol said. "We need to identify deeper things that have been going on and work through those things."
The department also has to admit if there is a problem, Christol said. If so, it needs to be determined whether it is "cultural or a lot of isolated incidents."
Gibson cited the need to "get back on track with a command staff" that has been subjected to disruptions over the last year and a half. From there, it will be about beginning a sense of normalcy and "creating that trust and dealing with issues inside the department."
The interview panel, which consists of City Manager Janice Casteel, law enforcement consultant Larry Wallace, Lee University President Dr. Paul Conn and Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce board President Robert Bradney, has not made a recommendation, according to a statement from Assistant City Manager Melinda Carroll.
"Consensus of the committee was that we have three highly qualified individuals for the position of police chief," Carroll said.
Casteel will meet individually today with each of the candidates, who were culled from a group of 36 applicants, and reconvene the selection committee Friday.
In a recent presentation to the Cleveland City Council, Wallace said a new police chief is expected to be in place by Oct. 1.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.