City narrows search for next police chief to 14 candidates

The search for the next Boulder City police chief has been narrowed to 14 candidates nearly two months after the city’s last police chief’s sudden resignation, a city spokesman announced Tuesday.

Officials have been looking for a new police chief since Jan. 11 after former Boulder City Police Chief Bill Conger resigned amid controversy surrounding the needless deaths of hundreds of animals at the city’s animal shelter.

Questionnaires were sent to 14 applicants “whose qualifications closely match the city’s needs” and responses from all candidates have been received, the city wrote in a memo March 3.

City officials are reviewing applications and responses to the questionnaires and will narrow the list to “those warranting further evaluation” in the coming weeks, Boulder City Manager David Fraser wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Fraser didn’t give details about what qualities the city is looking for in a police chief or what makes a candidate worthy of further evaluation.

“We are relatively early in a process that could take some time,” Fraser wrote. “At this stage, it would not be appropriate to discuss individual candidates.”

The city received 34 applications for the police chief position, though two people withdrew their applications. The field was then narrowed to the top 14.

Once the list has been shortened, the city will interview the candidates with the goal of “ultimately identifying the person best suited to fulfill this important role in our community,” Fraser said.

He doesn’t know when the city will appoint the new police chief because the candidates’ interviews have not been scheduled, he said.

“It is fair to say that it will be later this spring, but certainly not sooner than that,” Fraser wrote.

Although city spokesman JC Davis reiterated the city’s goal to find its next head-of-police through a “thorough recruitment,” he said it’s too early in the process to discuss candidates’ professional backgrounds and the questions posed in the most recent questionnaire.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@bouldercityreview.com or 702-586-9401. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber