Chief search pruned to insiders, police veteran from Pittsburgh
Three department commanders and late-addition applicant are final four candidates
SAN JOSE >> The city announced Feb. 22 that its search for the next leader of the San Jose Police Department has narrowed to three internal commanders and a police veteran with Pittsburgh police, who launched his candidacy after the city twice extended application deadlines to bolster its outside prospects.
SJPD acting Chief David Tindall, Deputy Chief Anthony Mata and Deputy Chief Heather Randol are joined by retired Pittsburgh Assistant Chief Larry Scirotto as the final four from whom City Manager David Sykes says he will select and present to the City Council for confirmation by the end of March.
Tindall, Mata and Randol were part of an initial pool of seven finalists announced in late January, but the application process was extended after two of the three external finalists, Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo and former Oakland chief Anne Kirkpatrick abruptly withdrew from consideration. It had been extended once before at the start of the year, after the city got a lackluster draw from outside the department that officials blamed in part on the holiday season. The application window began Nov. 30.
Two weeks ago, the city added to its finalist list Scirotto and Anchorage police Chief Justin Doll, to join Tindall, Mata, Randol, SJPD Capt. Jason Ta and Piedmont police Chief Jeremy Bowers, a longtime SJPD alum. All seven participated in a virtual forum on Feb. 13, which was followed by interview panels with community leaders and residents.
“We heard from many panelists that they are looking for a Chief of Police that understands the needs of the community as it relates to advancing a racial equity framework, and who has the transformative leadership capability to ensure that current policies and procedures see continued change,” Sykes wrote in the memo Feb. 22.
Tindall and Randol are White, Mata is Latino and
Scirotto is biracial and identifies as Black. If selected, Randol and Scirotto would be the first people of their gender and racial identities, respectively, to serve as San Jose police chief. Eddie Garcia, who retired as SJPD chief last year and has since taken the helm of Dallas police, is Latino.
Robert Sipple, a members of the chief’s Community Advisory Board and president of the Rose Garden Neighborhood Association, said he considers Randol and Tindall as most prepared to take the job, and representation should be get a heavy look by Sykes.
“We have not had a female chief, and the troops respect her,” he said.
Scirotto — who in the past four years has been a finalist for chief jobs in Portland, Grand Rapids and, just last fall, Nashville — would also be looking to reverse nearly a half-century of local history as an outside candidate with no time spent at SJPD. This round, the San Jose Police Officers’ Association has consistently endorsed an internal selection.
The city has not selected a truly external police chief since 1976 when Joe Mcnamara, who went on to become a national law-enforcement icon and later a Stanford police scholar, arrived from Kansas City. Since then, SJPD chiefs have been longtime department veterans, with the closest outside competition coming in 2010 from thenoakland police Chief Anthony Batts, who was a toptwo finalist but was passed over for Chris Moore.
The Rev. Jethroe “Jeff” Moore, president of the San Jose-silicon Valley NAACP, took part in the community panel interviews and said his panel listed Scirotto and Mata as their preferred candidates. He takes to heart how long it’s been since someone from outside the department was chosen chief.
“(Scirotto) was fresh, he was new. I think what the people in my group overall were saying, they want change,” Moore said, adding that Mata’s deep community engagement make him the ideal internal choice. “If every time we have to get another chief it’s always from within, there’s something wrong with the system.”
Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002.