Columbus Mayor Robert Smith on Wednesday released the names of the five finalists for the city’s police chief opening.
The Columbus City Council will interview the finalists at 3 p.m. on Jan. 19.
The five finalists are:
■ Curtis W. Brame, a commander with the North Chicago Police Department in Illinois. Brame has been with that department since 1977, according to his LinkedIn page. He applied to be the chief of the Columbus Police Department in 2011, but former chief Selvain McQueen was ultimately chosen by the city council.
■ Geoffrey S. Herweg, the deputy chief of police in Lovington, New Mexico. Herweg has held his current law enforcement position in Lovington since Jan. 2015, according to his LinkedIn page. He has more than 30 years of law enforcement and military experience.
■ Oscar Lewis III, the chief of police in Waynesboro. Lewis has been the chief of police there since April 2014. He previously worked 20 years with the Columbus Police Department, according to his LinkedIn page.
■ Arthur C. McClung, the chief of police in Moss Point. McClung has been the chief in Moss Point since January. He has worked for that department since 2012, according to a WTOC.com story.
■ Fred Shelton, the interim chief with CPD since November. Shelton has served his entire 32-year career with CPD.
Columbus is seeking a new chief to replace Tony Carleton, who resigned from the position in November following the police-involved shooting death of Ricky Ball on Oct. 16. State authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ball’s death.
Twenty-six people applied for the city’s top law enforcement position. A 14-person committee, created by the city council, reviewed the applicants and cut them down to five finalists Monday.
Smith previously told The Dispatch that the council will conduct the chief interviews in open session.
“It’ll be an open interview process,” Smith said. “This is where the citizens will be invited to come and observe the interview process. We will bring each applicant in one at a time and ask questions, and thereafter we’ll have our selection process.”
City officials declined to release the finalists’ resumes to The Dispatch on Wednesday afternoon.
The city advertised a $72,000 to $75,000 salary range for the chief of police position.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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