Police chief candidates announced
The public will have an opportunity to meet and question the three finalists during an open house Thursday. The finalists include two external candidates, as well as the current assistant chief.
Laramie could have a new police chief within the month. While the final hiring decision is up to City Manager Janine Jordan, the public will have the chance to question Jordan’s three finalists at a forum next week.
Following former Laramie Police Chief Dale Stalder’s retirement earlier this month, Jordan launched a national search for his replacement with the help of Public Sector Search and Consulting.
Together, they crafted a recruitment brochure that promoted Laramie, and described both the position and the ideal candidate.
“The successful candidate will be empathetic and able to inspire and lead the department by communicating a clear vision, being forward-thinking, transparent, inclusive and apolitical,” the brochure reads. “Top candidates will have a stellar career history and be known for their engaging and personable style.”
The brochure also called for “expert-level knowledge of modern policing principles,” “experience with crime prevention,” and a background in addressing community issues such as mental illness, trauma and substance abuse.
The next police chief will oversee a department with an annual budget of $8.2 million and 75 employees, including 47 sworn officers. The new chief will make an annual salary of $90,000 to $135,000, depending on qualifications and experience, according to the brochure. That figure does not account for benefits, which include comprehensive health insurance, life insurance, paid leave and a pension.
Jordan said the city received upwards of 30 applications for the position. She narrowed that stack of resumes down to six semi-finalists, who were then interviewed by two panels of community stakeholders. Those panels included law enforcement professionals, but also other professionals in areas from mental health to senior care.
“With the input from that group and our recruiting firm that we’ve been working with, we narrowed the pool down to three finalists,” Jordan said.
Those three finalists are:
Brian Browne, current Anaheim Police Department Captain overseeing that department’s operations support division (which includes response and personnel at Disneyland). Browne has advocated for greater law enforcement use of grappling martial arts – as a way of reducing the use of guns and tasers and of reducing injuries to suspects and officers. In his current role, Browne makes nearly $300,000 a year between salary and benefits, according to Transparent California, a site run by a conservative-leaning nonprofit.
Frank Rodriguez, current deputy commissioner for the North Carolina Department of Insurance’s criminal investigations division. Rodriguez is a decorated combat veteran with 24 years of service in the U.S. Army, eight deployments and several medals. He has been a finalist in several other police chief searches across the west, including Pueblo, New Mexico, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He completed a 10-week course at the FBI National Academy in Virginia in 2018.
Robert Terry, current Laramie Police Department Assistant Chief. Terry has served as assistant chief since 2016 and is currently serving as interim head of the department. He has worked for LPD since 2002, being heavily involved in community outreach programs, but also with the special response team and as a detective. He helped to coordinate protest surveillance during the 2020 George Floyd protests in Laramie. Terry also completed the FBI National Academy course, in the same 2018 cohort as Rodriguez.
On Thursday and Friday next week, Browne, Rodriguez and Terry will be in Laramie, touring the city, meeting with LPD staff and doing more interviews.
On Thursday, Sept. 22, from 6-7:30 p.m., all three candidates will field questions from the public during an open house at the Laramie Municipal Operations Center (4373 N. Third St.)
The Laramie Police Department has been at the center of local police accountability discussions for several years. While more high-profile deadly uses of force and allegations of rampant racism have plagued the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, activists have pushed for greater civilian oversight of the city police department.
The push for a civilian oversight board appears dead for now following a close vote of the Laramie City Council earlier this year. Former Chief Dale Stalder had opposed the creation of a civilian oversight board, raising concerns about such a board’s legality under Wyoming law.
Simultaneous calls for improving mental health responses by LPD have been met with more success. Even as it nixed the oversight board, the city council greenlit further consideration of a co-response model that would see mental health professionals responding to calls alongside officers. A new anonymous complaint system is also in the works.
Stalder has been involved in the process of finding his replacement, he told the city council in August. Stalder said his department is highly qualified and well-trained, especially in areas of crisis intervention, and will continue to serve with distinction under whichever candidate becomes the new chief.
“Whether you find yourself with an internal candidate who’s the next chief or an external candidate, I’m very comfortable that the men and women of the police department that you have will carry on a long history of professionalism and excellent work,” Stalder said.