Five in running for top cop job

Woonsocket police chief search panel submits finalists to mayor for approval

WOONSOCKET – The Police Chief Search Committee will turn over the names of five finalists for the chief’s job to Public Safety Director Eugene Jalette and Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt next week, marking the end of its role in the headhunting chore.

“A majority of the panel thought that these five were the best of the 34 original applicants for the chief’s job and we’re confident that these are the right five to become the finalists,” said City Council President Robert Moreau and chairman of the search group.

The nine-member search committee began meeting in early March to pare down the list of contestants who began submitting applications about a month before that.

The five were selected after the panel conducted oral interviews at City Hall on May 7 and 8, said Moreau.

“There was a lot of reading, a lot of paperwork,” said Moreau. “They submitted applications and resumes and written answers to our interrogatories. Some of those were quite lengthy.”

Moreau declined to identify – or even generally describe — the finalists, saying it’s up to Jalette and Baldelli-Hunt to do so if they wish. He said neither of the officials knows the identities of the finalists yet, but the information would be formally conveyed to them for the first time by the middle of next week.

Only one of the original applicants was ever identified – Detective Capt. Michael A. Lemoine, a 24-year veteran of the Woonsocket Police Department who is currently serving as acting chief. It is unknown, however, whether he is among the five finalists who are still in contention for the chief’s job.

Under the procedures adopted by the city council, the search committee’s mission was to develop a short list of preferred candidates for consideration by the appointing authorities. Under those procedures, the duty of selecting the chief

falls to the public safety director.

The next chief will succeed former Police Chief Thomas Carey, who retired in mid-February after more than seven years on the job. Carey, who worked for the St. Petersburg, Fla., police department before he joined the WPD in 2008, announced his retirement last fall, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The minimum qualifications for the job include 10 years of experience, including five in a supervisory rank of lieutenant or higher, plus a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement, criminal justice or a related field.

The job description on file at City Hall says the chief of

police is responsible for the overall planning, administration, and operation of the Woonsocket Police Department in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations. Specifics on salary were omitted from helpwanted advertising because the figure will be set as a result of negotiations with Baldelli-Hunt.

The search committee, whose members were appointed by Baldelli-Hunt, was designed to represent a mix of civilians, members of the city council, department directors and law enforcement, including members of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers union and a outside agency.

In addition to Moreau, the members were Councilman Christopher Beauchamp; city residents Patricia Allen, D’Andre Thomas and Kavila Keophakdy; Finance Director Christine Chamberland and Public Works Director Steven D’Agostino; retired Sgt. Brian Kane and Senior Investigator Paul San Souci of Office of the Attorney General.

No further sessions of the group are scheduled.

Moreau praised their work during the screening processing, calling them “professional and dedicated.”

“Everyone did a good job,” he said.