Open process awaits Fort Worth police chief finalists

Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke is narrowing in on his incredibly important choice for the city’s new police chief, and he seems set on doing it in an incredibly open public process.

Jeff Halstead retired in January after six years as chief. Rhonda Robertson has been serving as interim chief while a consulting firm has aided Cooke in the search for a new chief.

“I am committed to an open, inclusive finalist process that will involve several days,” Cooke told the City Council in an Aug. 11 memo.

And when he says open and inclusive, he means all of the finalists being interviewed by several community groups and participating in a two-hour forum at which they will answer questions from the public.

Cooke said in the memo that he and his executive staff have “reviewed applications, supplemental questionnaires and video interviews of candidates” and have “narrowed the field to eight candidates.”

Those eight have been undergoing thorough background checks.

“Once this is completed the finalist group will be narrowed to five or six and made public,” Cooke wrote. That announcement could come any day now.

Naming “five or six” people who are finalists for a top public job is extraordinary and can have its drawbacks.

Those finalists almost certainly have high-level police jobs in other cities, and the public announcement here means their bosses back home will know they are job-shopping.

Only one will get the Fort Worth job, and the others will have to go home and face those bosses.

Texas school districts avoid that when they search for new superintendents. They say knowing that their names will be released could mean some good candidates won’t apply.

As the Fort Worth district did recently, they announce only a “lone finalist.”

Cooke’s process might make some candidates feel vulnerable, but it provides a public vetting that fits the crucial nature of the hire. Any candidate who can’t stand the pressure probably is not right for the job.

Cooke plans to bring his finalists in and keep them busy with public appearances for two days.

They’ll have interviews with top city staff members, police management personnel, police and general government employees, volunteers involved in supporting the police department and a panel of business leaders.

They’ll attend a community reception hosted by Mayor Betsy Price and the City Council, then participate in a community forum to answer questions from the public.

Formally, the council does not have a role to play in hiring the new chief. It’s Cooke’s decision, but he’s doing it in a way that provides maximum openness and feedback.

This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Open process awaits Fort Worth police chief finalists."