Six Finalists for New Police Chief Job

Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung has announced that six finalists are in the running for the job of chief of police.

In an open letter to the residents of Cranston, Fung said he wanted to thank the department who continue to faithfully serve the residents of the city and the city is about to "embark on a new era of professional service and reform."

The selection of a new chief is "critical to those efforts," Fung said, noting the pool of candidates is impressive.

"I am confident we will select a highly-qualified professional," Fung said.

The selection process was aided by a selection committee that included Chief of Staff Carlos Lopez, Director of Administration Gerald Cordy, Vincent Vespia, Chief of the South Kingstown Police Department; Vincent Carlone, Chief of the New Shoreham Police Department; and Christopher Stowe, a lawyer and Providence NAACP Branch President James Vincent.

So what's next?

Fung and the committee will eventually settle on a final pick in the "coming weeks," Fung said, and the name will be handed to the Cranston City Council for a final vote for approval and consent.

Fung will conduct face-to-face interviews with the finalists over the next few weeks "to determine which applicant is best suited to lead our police force into the future."

The council is not expecting to vote before its August meeting because with no need to pay a police chief for the next few months, the city budget, which went into effect on Monday, contains no salary for a chief until September. 

The City Council, during its budget process, opted to instead use that money, totalling $66,000, to buy new police cars.

Lopez could not provide a timetable for when the mayor's selection would occur. But he did say the City Council will have ample opportunity to interview and present the final candidate to the public before their vote, whenever that happens.

The police chief job is a mayoral appointment, just like any other department head, Lopez said, subject to the same rules as any other department appointment. 

"The only difference is the chief happens to be a police officer," Lopez said.

All of the applicants, whose names were not released, are from outside the department — a desire expressed by both Fung and the majority of the City Council. In his letter, Fung said he looks forward to welcoming "a new leader to the department who will bring an outsider's perspective to the job and will make a commitment to moving us forward to better serve the families and residents of Cranston."