-July 11: Then-police chief Joseph St. John is placed under paid administrative leave after testing positive for alcohol after he missed a Civil Service Commission hearing on June 17.
-July 19: The Columbus City Council fires St. John with a 5-1 vote. Only Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens votes against the termination.
The council votes at the same meeting to begin a national search and also votes to name Selvain McQueen the interim police chief.
-Unknown date: City officials place an advertisement for the position with requirements including a bachelor’s degree. At a later date, officials change the ad to say bachelor’s degree is “preferred” but not required.
The city extends the application deadline for the vacant position. The deadline originally was Aug. 25 but was extended until Sept. 8 because about 60 people applied and many were not qualified.
-Sept. 8: The application phase closes with 82 candidates.
-Sept. 15: Three city officials — Mayor Robert Smith, Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong and Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell — sift through the 82 applications and eliminate 57 of them, leaving 25 candidates for consideration.
-Oct. 12: A 21-person search committee that includes police chiefs from nearby municipalities, community members, city officials, media members and local pastors meets to vote on five top finalists and three alternates to submit to council.
-Oct. 18: The committee reveals the selections to the city during a council meeting. The five finalists are Curtis Brame of North Chicago, Ill.; Nathaniel Clark of Albany, Ga.; Sam Lathrop of Beloit, Wis.; McQueen, of Columbus; and Robert Spinks of Sequim, Wash.
The council agrees at the same meeting to form a five-person subcommittee to speak with references for each of the five finalists.
-Oct. 25: The council calls a special meeting to discuss the search process. Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box expressed displeasure with the process and referred to some of the finalists as “losers.” Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin also expressed some concerns about the process.
-Oct. 27: Lathrop withdraws from consideration due, in large part, to Box’s comments and negative attitudes from some community leaders and residents. The city decides on Don Daniel, of Casa Grande, Ariz., as the alternate to replace Lathrop.
-Nov. 1: Daniel also withdraws from consideration, and the city decides to move forward with the four remaining finalists: Brame, Clark, McQueen and Spinks.
Melissa Cook, Columbus-Lowndes Development Link vice president withdraws from committee.
-Nov. 15: Council members hear a five-person subcommittee’s report, which includes four pages of findings — one for each finalist.
-Nov. 22: The Columbus-Lowndes Political Action Committee offers to pay up to $3,000 for the travel expenses for the three out-of-town candidates. The city agrees to televise the interviews.
-Dec. 2: Clark withdraws from consideration via email to city officials.
-Dec. 8: Council members and Smith interview three remaining candidates.
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