| Dozen candidates in running for Dallas police chief |
| Copyright 2004 Knight
Ridder/Tribune News Service Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
| March 31, 2004, Wednesday |
| DALLAS _ City officials
whittled the list of police chief candidates from 70 to 12 Tuesday, with
four current or former Dallas police officials in the running as well as
police chiefs from California and Florida.
Arlington, Texas, Deputy City Manager David Kunkle made the short list. Kunkle, a former Dallas Police Department captain who became police chief in Grand Prairie and Arlington, is scheduled to be interviewed next month by top city administrators and meet with community and police leaders. Kunkle, who has been a deputy city manager since 1999, said he is pleased to be on the short list. The job has a unique attraction for him because he began his law-enforcement career as a Dallas police officer in 1972 and became the youngest captain in Dallas Police Department history. "There's no other city in America that could pull me back into policing," he said. Aside from interim Police Chief Randy Hampton, the police chiefs of Minneapolis, North Miami Beach, Fla., Pasadena, Calif., and Wichita, Kan., made the cut. Mayor Laura Miller said she is pleased with the quality of the candidates. She said she is unfamiliar with some of the candidates, including Kunkle, but is glad that the candidates are diverse and include current and former Dallas police officials. "I think we're a good city to work for, and I hope one of these guys turns out to be our chief," Miller said. "I think it's a good representation of folks all around." The final decision on the job resides with City Manager Ted Benavides. Some City Council members have criticized the quality of the applicants, saying they were disappointed that more candidates from major cities did not apply. Next month, the candidates will be interviewed by Benavides and two assistant city managers, and they will also have informal meetings with community and police representatives. The Dallas police chief job has been open since August, when Terrell Bolton was fired by Benavides after a series of conflicts.
Dallas police chief candidates William Berger, police chief in North Miami Beach, Fla. Louie Caudell, former police chief in Little Rock, Ark. Louis Cobarruviaz, program manager for the U.S. Department of Justice Danny Garcia, Dallas deputy police chief Randy Hampton, Dallas interim police chief David Kunkle, Arlington deputy city manager Bernard Melekian, police chief in Pasadena, Calif. Robert Olson, police chief in Minneapolis Kevin Robinson, assistant police chief in Phoenix Manuel Vasquez, police chief for the Dallas school district Thomas Ward, Dallas assistant police chief Norman Williams, police chief in Wichita, Kan.
(Star-Telegram staff writer Sally Claunch contributed to this report.) |