The Columbus City Council should explore police chief candidates’ management experience and ability to relate to the community when personal interviews are conducted next month. That’s the advice offered by a subcommittee charged with reviewing the candidates.
The subcommittee proffered a four-page report to the city at last Tuesday’s council meeting, which includes one page on each candidate. The four finalists are Curtis Brame of North Chicago, Ill.; Nathaniel Clark of Albany, Ga.; Robert Spinks of Sequim, Wash; and Selvain McQueen of Columbus.
Subcommittee members wrote of the community relations aspect of the new chief: “We believe this is a theme that needs to be explored … with all the candidates.”
The Commercial Dispatch received copies of the subcommittee reports on each of the four finalists for the Columbus police chief position after filing a request for public records with the city.
All information cited is from the subcommittee members’ background and reference checks into the candidates.
Curtis Brame
Brame started his career with the North Chicago Police Department in 1985 and rose through the ranks from patrol officer to deputy chief.
The subcommittee conducted interviews with a dozen people ranging from references to current and former associates.
“Among the former and current law enforcement personnel with whom we spoke, Lt. Brame received largely high praise for integrity, cooperation and skills and ability,” the report reads.
Only three people contacted were aware of a whisteblower lawsuit Brame filed in 2005 against the city and police chief. The complaint alleged the chief “retaliated against him for disclosing information to the mayor concerning what (Brame) believes was criminal activity committed by the chief,” according to court documents in the case.
“But when asked, those aware of it and those not said, to paraphrase, ‘If he did it, he had a good reason because that’s the way he is,'” the subcommittee wrote. “When asked why he might want to move, the references and others suggested ‘they don’t blame him” for wanting to make a change from the community of where he’s lived and worked most of his life. As one sheriff said, ‘If I could do what he’s trying to do, I would.'”
The report said Brame should be asked in more detail about “the Whitsleblower situation, the reasons behind it and why he wants to move now,” along with city official interaction and “budget experience.”
“The budgeting is particularly important because his résumé does not speak in detail to that issue and his references have little experience with him in that area,” the report said.
Nathaniel Clark
Clark was one of the four finalists for the Columbus police chief position in 2007 when the council voted to appoint Joseph St. John, who was terminated in July. Clark was since hired by the Albany Police Department in 2008 as the director of the Office of Professional Standards and is a deputy chief. Clark was police chief in Pine Bluff, Ark., from 2000 to 2002.
The subcommittee report called Clark, a “top-notch policeman,” who “has done a great job at Albany PD.” Clark “implemented a strong, anti-gang task force,” “leads by example and direction,” “works well with officers” and “doesn’t see color or status.”
More positives about Clark, according to the report, include his supervisory and communication skills, being “direct” and “detailed,” not wanting to receive all the credit and being a “good public speaker.”
“Very highly recommended and Albany hates to lose him,” the report said.
Some “areas of concern” are that Clark “sometimes tried too hard,” isn’t really a “people person” and is “not very visible in the community.”
Robert Spinks
Spinks has about 30 years of policing experience and worked as Sequim police chief from February 2005 to June 2010. Spinks previously served as police chief in Milton-Freewater, Ore., from 1997 to 2001.
The strengths listed on the report for Spinks include being “progressive,” “organized,” “a hard worker” and a “hands-on person.”
Spinks is “very outgoing,” “energetic,” a “great communicator” and isn’t afraid to “take a stand on tough issues.”
The report states Spinks is “well-liked and respected” in the community and is “big on community policing.”
“(The) community doesn’t want him to leave.”
“Definitely a change agent, a fixer; will take your PD to a new level; always looking for new challenges,” subcommittee members wrote.
Some “areas of concern” include Spinks being “kind of a ‘rolling stone,'” meaning he changes jobs frequently, and “(he) likes to be in the spotlight.”
According to the report, Spinks’ intelligence “can sometimes be intimidating” and he has “some friction with a few of the officers.”
Selvain McQueen
McQueen, who has more than 23 years of law enforcement experience, is the former head of the Columbus Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and was appointed interim Columbus police chief in July.
The subcommittee “spoke with more than a dozen people” about McQueen.
“A former supervisor said, ‘He has good common sense; he’s a good worker.'”
“An elderly woman whose house was recently invaded called one of the committee members to praise the response of the police force and the follow-up attention from Interim Chief McQueen.”
Some areas of concern, according to the report, include McQueen’s lack of supervisory experience, and questions about his management skills and temperament to run the CPD.
“A good player does not necessarily mean a good coach, we were told,” the report reads.
“Since he has not managed a department, the conversation to have with Selvain McQueen is about his management style and his vision for the department. What does he think are strengths and weaknesses of the current structure? What changes would he make?”
The report cited Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong’s comments from the committee meeting a few weeks ago. Armstrong, one of the 21 members on the subcommittee, said the close relationship between the Vicksburg PD and the community helped solve homicides.
“One person we spoke with said crimes are not solved in Columbus because the community ‘doesn’t want to get involved with the police department.’ Another source told us, ‘The chief needs to be able to relate to the community.’ We believe this is a theme that needs to be explored, not only with McQueen, but with all the candidates,” the report reads.
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