Date: Fri 31-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

police-chief-commission

Full Text:

Police Commission Narrows Search For Chief

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The Police Commission has narrowed to "about 10" the number of people in

contention to become the town's new police chief, Police Commission Vice

Chairman Robert W. Connor, Jr, said Thursday.

"It's going pretty good, actually," he said of the search to fill the vacancy

created by March retirement of Chief Michael DeJoseph.

The commission has mailed notices to about 10 candidates that it wants to

interview, he said. Applicants submitted 118 resumes for the job.

"We'll schedule interviews for people we've selected for the final cut," Mr

Connor said.

After initial interviews, the commission plans to make a second cut, reducing

the number of people in contention for the police chief post, he said.

The Police Commission plans to have police chiefs from three area towns

interview the remaining candidates to provide advice to it on who would make

for a good police chief, Mr Connor added. He expects the commission will have

hired a new police chief by the end of June or beginning of July.

Not everyone who applied for the job met all of the qualifications for the

post, according to Mr Connor.

The qualifications include that the candidate have at least: a bachelors

degree; seven years of experience in police work; the rank of lieutenant; and

leadership and management skills. The commission also prefers a person with

experience in community policing. The Police Commission advertised the post in

the April edition of the magazine published by the International Association

of Chiefs of Police.

"Connecticut was pretty well represented" among the people applying for the

job, Mr Connor said. Job seekers are from across the country including

Florida, Texas, and the West Coast. Some of the applicants are police chiefs

from police departments with only a handful of officers and others are chiefs

at departments with hundreds of officers, he said. Newtown has about 35

officers.

Mr Connor said that the five commission members are acting deliberately in

selecting in police chief. "We could have somebody who's going to be here for

the next 15 years."

"We're not trying to keep everybody in suspense...We're just trying to do this

correctly," he said.

Captain Michael Fekete has been serving as acting police chief since Mr

DeJoseph left town in late March. Captain Fekete is slated to have surgery in

June. While the captain is recovering, the police department's lieutenants

will supervise the department, Mr Connor said, noting the department has a

clear chain of command.

Lieutenant Owen Carney, a town resident who heads the Newtown Police

Department's special investigations unit, has applied for the police chief's

job.

Selectman James M. Mooney, the director of campus security at the University

of Bridgeport also has applied for the job. Mr Mooney is a former state police

captain.

Mr Connor wouldn't comment whether any town residents remain in the running

for the police chief job.

First Selectman Robert Cascella has urged that the Police Commission speed up

its search for a chief.

Mr DeJoseph resigned his post to take a job as technical services manager for

the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Virginia.