Mayor says Memphis police director selection nears
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Tuesday that he would choose a new police director sometime in the next two weeks, but did not give a firm timeline beyond that.
The mayor said the city continues to cull documents related to out-of-town candidates. The diligence shows, at least, that the city is heavily weighing bringing in an outsider to run the Memphis Police Department for the first time in decades.
Three of the five outof-town finalists, Joel Fitzgerald, Anne Kirkpatrick and Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, have been fired at one time in their respective careers. Strickland did not say which out-oftown candidates were receiving extra vetting.
“We’re mostly reviewing documents and media accounts ...,” Strickland said.
“It’s to understand the situation that occurred that made the news and make sure we feel comfortable. And we really haven’t found anything that I don’t feel comfortable with.”
Strickland had intended to select a replacement by the time MPD Director Mike Rallings retired Wednesday, but extended the search process last week and added an eighth finalist, Davis, the police chief in Durham, North Carolina.
The mayor said it was his decision to add Davis, adding that she would have been included among the original seven finalists. Davis was interviewed by several dozen panelists last Thursday.
“There’s a lot of really high-quality people who are seeking to be police chiefs. I don’t know what I expected on the front end, but I’ve been impressed with these men and women,” Strickland said.
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.