4 finalists named for Tucson police chief job

Four finalists — all from out of state — were selected as finalists for Tucson’s police chief job, the city said Monday night.

No candidates from the local police department made the final list.

The candidates named are:

Malik Aziz, a deputy chief of Dallas Police Department. Aziz is a 24-year veteran of the Dallas department, where he’s held a variety of ranks. He’s served as a deputy chief since 2012. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a MBA from the University of Dallas.
Larry B. Esquivel, chief of police in San Jose, California, who is retiring from that job in January 2016. Esquivel has served as San Jose police chief since January 2014 and had served as acting chief for a year before that. The department has 941 sworn officers and a $309 million operating budget. He’s held a variety of ranks in the department, where he started in 1986. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in criminal justice from San Jose State University.
Rick S. Gregory, vice president and senior research associate at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research in Tallahassee, Florida. He served more than 22 years in the Florida Highway Patrol at every rank, rising to deputy director. He served as chief of police in New Castle, Delaware, overseeing more than 360 sworn officers and a $52 million budget, and in Provo, Utah, which has about 100 sworn officers and a $15 million budget. He’s served in several civilian jobs, including state director for a U.S. senator from Delaware, a director’s job with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation; and in his current position. He has a bachelor’s of science degree from Barry University in Orlando.
Christopher J. Magnus, chief of police in Richmond, California. He has been chief there since 2006. The department has 320 personnel and a $75 million budget. Before that he was the Fargo, North Dakota, police chief from 1999 to 2005 and served in a variety of ranks in the Lansing, Michigan, Police Department. He has a master’s degree in labor relations from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from MSU.

Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor is set to retire in December. He has served with the police department for 35 years. The department has about 900 sworn officers.

Roland Gutierrez, president of the Tucson Police Officers’ Association, said late Monday that union leaders will research each candidate’s background. The union will send representatives to each of the police departments where the candidates work or have worked to discuss with officers their management style.

Gutierrez said the union also will be seeking information about how the candidates performed as commanders and how they react in different situations.

He said the union is concerned that two of the candidates come from much smaller departments than TPD.

The finalists will interview with the city’s Police Chief Appointment Advisory Committee at a public meeting Oct. 29, said city spokeswoman Lane Mandle, in a news release.

There are 15 members on the committee. The public meeting will be in the City Council’s chambers in City Hall at 255 W. Alameda St.

Separate interviews will be held with the Tucson Police Officers’ Association, Tucson Police Department command staff and the city’s executive leadership team, Mandle said.

City Manager Michael Ortega will receive input from all three groups.

“I look forward to receiving input from both internal and external stakeholder groups as we move toward the selection for this important position,” said Ortega in the release.

“I am confident we will find a chief committed to applying the principles of community policing to deliver a high level of services to residents,” Ortega said.

The city contracted with the Police Executive Research Forum to conduct the national search and assist with the three-part hiring process, Mandle said.

The research forum screened the initial applications and provided Ortega with 60 applicants. The list then was whittled to 14.

Ortega said he did interview the final four candidates, and chose to make them finalists for the job.

Rebecca Neuburger, executive search consultant with the research forum, said there were four TPD candidates. Neuburger or Ortega would not say who the TPD candidates were, or why they did not make it to the finalist list.

Ortega did say: “The most qualified were selected.”