The number of applicants to serve as the next Flagler Beach police chief is down to five.
Pedro “Pete” Delgado, the current chief of the West Miami Police Department, has withdrawn his name, according to Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin. Martin wrote that Delgado did not give a “specific reason” for withdrawing his name from consideration.
Delgado was among six semi-finalists selected from about 30 applicants for the job.
A board is being organized to interview the five remaining candidates.
Whoever is hired will succeed Matt Doughney, a former Daytona Beach police captain who served as police chief from 2013 until his retirement on Jan. 2. Doughney was earning $121,576 when he retired.
The department has 18 sworn law enforcement positions. Two positions are unfilled: an officer and the police chief. Here are the five applicants for the job, which has a published salary of bettween $92,716 and $152,982.
Lance Blanchette, Flagler Beach
Currently serving as the interim chief, Blanchette wrote that he has more than 32 years of experience in law enforcement, including serving as deputy chief of police for Flagler Beach for the past 7 ½ years. He said he has developed strong relationships in the community and understands its needs. Blanchette also included reference letters praising his abilities from Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
Edward Fingers Jr., Missouri
Fingers is a watch commander with the St. Louis County Police Department in Missouri, where he has worked since December 1998. He is retiring. Fingers has served as an academy instructor and a Homeland Security officer with the U.S. Air Force-Civil Air Patrol. He listed tasks, such as “search and rescue of downed aircraft,” missing persons, and counter-drug reconnaissance. He was a police officer with the Valley Park Missouri Police Department from 1995 to 1998 and a homicide investigator with the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad from 2003 to 2008. Fingers was also a legal specialist with the U.S. Army from 1990 to 1995. Fingers was also on protection details for the presidential debates of 2004 and 2016, and the 1999 papal visit.
Andrew Klopfer, Pennsylvania
Currently an assistant special agent in charge with the FBI in Philadelphia, Klopfer has been with the FBI since 2012 in different roles, including as a legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. He also previously worked at the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Before joining the FBI, he was a police officer in Connecticut. He has a law degree. Klopfer wrote that he was recruited into the FBI after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Klopfer wrote that he has “managed complex national security investigations while developing and mentoring others.” Klopfer stated he was also a SWAT team member and sniper, an FBI firearms instructor, and an FBI tactical instructor.
Anthony Raimondo, Florida
Raimondo is the executive director of development services with the city of Sanford, a job he has held since 2021. He was deputy chief of the Sanford Police Department from 2017 to 2021 and a police captain with Sanford from 2012 to 2017. He was an officer with the Bunnell Police Department from 1996 to 1999. He served in the Marine Corps, where he was an infantry leader in Panama and Desert Shield/Storm. Raimondo was also one of the first Sanford police officers to respond to the shooting on Feb. 26, 2012, of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, according to a Los Angeles Times story. Raimondo, a sergeant at the time, testified for the prosecution at the 2013 trial of shooter George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who was found not guilty by a jury in the fatal shooting of the unarmed Black teenager. The Black Lives Matter movement was formed after Zimmerman’s acquittal.
Jeffrey VanAuken, New York
VanAuken is a retired major and troop commander with the New York State Police, where he worked from 1994 until 2023 in various roles, starting as a trooper. He was a commissioned officer in the Navy. VanAuken wrote that after retiring from the New York State Police, he relocated to Florida. He added, “I’ve realized that I still have a desire to serve my community, especially as a law enforcement leader.” He goes on to write: “I am a dependable, hard-working individual who will bring an enthusiastic and positive atmosphere to the organization.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Candidate withdraws from consideration for Flagler Beach police chief
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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