FORT PIERCE — City commissioners have affirmed David Smith, City Manager Richard Chess’ pick as the city’s next police chief. The vote for Smith was unanimous at the Dec. 8 meeting.
The city now will now enter contract negotiations with Smith, currently commander of the Eastern District operation for the Prince William County Police Department in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Smith was announced Dec. 4 as Chess’ selection, concluding a monthslong search that saw 57 applicants narrowed to seven and then to three finalists after a first round of interviews. Those three participated in second-round interviews with commissioners, Chess and a staff committee.
Unlike most city employees, the city manager’s pick for police chief requires approval by the City Commission, according to the city’s charter.
Chess’ selection was not without controversy. The police officers’ union, multiple members of the public and even two city commissioners criticized the decision not to include local candidates among finalists — three had made the initial seven-candidate shortlist — for consideration before the second-round interviews.
Specifically, Mayor Linda Hudson and Commissioner Michael Broderick pressured Chess to add Fort Pierce Police Bureau Commander and Acting Deputy Chief Caleb Gillette as a finalist. Gillette also was endorsed by the union.
In the end, Chess stuck with his decision, and ultimately Hudson and Broderick backed Smith, joined by commissioners Arnold Gaines and Curtis Johnson. The union, too, backed Smith, with spokesperson Troy Carter voicing that support in a letter read by Gaines at the Dec. 8 meeting.
Chess thanked the commissioners, the public and the union for giving his finalists a chance, even as they were disappointed that the local candidates had not advanced. Multiple union representatives, and even Gillette himself, attended the Dec. 2 meet-and-greet for the three candidates, Chess said.
“I would like to thank the union representatives who attended the meet-and-greet,” Chess said. “They didn’t have to be there. They could have not gone. They could have been ticked off, not shown up at all.”
Each of the seven candidates who made the initial shortlist were qualified for the job, Chess said. The determining factor that led to the selection of three finalists, and eventually one recommendation, was made after interviews and based solely on who best fit the department’s needs, Chess said.
“When I put together a team, I look for the fit. All of the finalists, as well as the four that didn’t move forward, were very qualified, but it’s the fit as well,” Chess said. “I believe that Mr. Smith fits what the Police Department needs and what I’m looking for right now.”
All four commissioners said Smith’s one-on-one interviews were impressive.
“Going into my interview, Mr. Smith was not my first choice,” said Gaines. “After my interviews, he was my first choice.”
The interviews were held the morning after the meet-and-greet, and, Johnson said, the conversations Smith had there with officers and the community, which gave him an idea of issues he would face, were a major focus of their interview.
“The meet-and-greet had quite the impression on him,” Johnson said. “There were certain people that he described, in detail, as to their concerns.”
Some of those concerns include a perception within the department that there are not opportunities for upward mobility.
Broderick had previously pointed to the removal of internal candidates as a step in the wrong direction in addressing that perception, but he said Smith emphasized the importance of cultivating and promoting internal talent. Broderick said Smith told him he does not plan to bring in any of his current staff to fill leadership roles in Fort Pierce.
“He says we are going to work with the team that we have locally,” Broderick said. “And that resonated with me.”
Hudson pointed to his ability to manage people and cultivate internal talent. As a commander overseeing one of his department’s districts, Hudson said, Smith has extensive experience in human resources and budgeting.
“He’s basically been a chief in his department,” Hudson said.
Hudson also commended Smith for having “done a lot of homework,” saying he was the only candidate she interviewed who was intimately familiar with a consultants’ report from earlier in the year that listed 84 recommended changes. Smith, Hudson said, spoke in detail not just about the recommendations but about the Police Department’s response to each one.
Though he had issues with the way the hiring process played out, particularly with the removal of the local candidates from the shortlist, Broderick said it ended in a good place.
“All of the participants in this process, I think, have come to the same conclusion as to who the best candidate is,” Broderick said.
The search for a new chief began after the May resignation of Diane Hobley-Burney, amid calls for her firing from members of the City Commission following the release of the consultants’ report. In the interim, Police Department veteran Robert Ridle has been acting chief.
City Attorney Sara Hedges and Chess said the goal is to complete Smith’s contract negotiations and have the City Commission vote on his contract Dec. 15.
Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: David Smith gets unanimous vote to be new Fort Pierce police chief
Reporting by Wicker Perlis, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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