5 Candidates Interviewing for Madison Police Chief Job

Today (Thursday) and Friday the Police Chief Personnel Search Committee will conduct interviews with five finalist candidates for the position of police chief. The field of five includes candidates from both in state and out of state and all are either police chiefs or

officers holding major command positions within their departments. None of the five is an officer with the Madison Police Department.

The personnel search committee, composed of the five members of the Police Commission, will be joined in the interviews by newly elected First Selectman Fillmore McPherson and Al Goldberg, former first selectman, as well as two representatives from the Board of Finance.

Acting Police Chief Robert Nolan said earlier this week that the chief's position attracted 132 applications. The commission decided to conduct a national search for a new chief and advertised the position through the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Applications closed Oct. 16.

A "chiefs panel" then began a review of the

applications.

"I was surprised, gratified actually, by the number of applications and high quality of the applicants," Nolan said. "The applications we reviewed were from candidates who were more than qualified."

Of the five candidates to be interviewed this week, some are from departments within the state, some are from out of state, Nolan said.

"Every one is either a police chief or, if not a chief, holds a

major command position within their department," Nolan said, adding that there were no internal

candidates among the five finalists. When asked if any internal candidates had applied, Nolan declined to comment.

The chiefs panel, which met three or four times through the last weeks of October, included Nolan, the retired Hamden police chief who has served as acting chief in Madison for well over a year; John D. Ambrogio, another retired Hamden police chief;

William Farrell, a Madison

resident who was formerly police chief for New

Haven; and North Branford Police Chief Matthew Canelli. The panel also included two

appointments from the

community. These were Superintendent of Schools David Klein and Daniel Sullivan, a retired

attorney, prosecutor, and long-serving member of more than one senior tax relief study

committee.

The chiefs panel recommended 11 candidates to the personnel search committee. A review by the search committee last week reduced the number to five. Each of the five candidates will be

interviewed in a process that includes answering a set of questions

approved beforehand by the search committee. The questions and the candidates' answers "are critical in making this decision," Nolan said.

The search committee could select one of the five candidates to be interviewed today or

tomorrow or it could choose to look further. Unlike past chiefs, the new chief will be asked to sign an employment contract. The

salary for the position is

advertised as $95,000 or higher.

When it advertised through the IACP, the Police Commission required candidates to "have a proven record of accomplishment in policing with at least 15 years of service, five of those years

serving as a lieutenant or higher." Candidates were expected to hold a bachelor's degree and preferably a master's degree from an

accredited college or university and "evidence of continuing training and self-development, such as graduation from the FBI

National Academy or other

police leadership development program."

The commission was also seeking candidates with "excellent management skills, a proven ability to inspire confidence, and a strong record of achievement in public safety, security, community policing, and drug enforcement."