5 finalists for St. Paul police chief announced, nearly all internal candidates
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- There are now five finalists for the City of St. Paul's police chief position. One's an outsider, and the rest have served on the force for at least two decades.
"Selecting a police chief is one of the most critical decisions a community must make," Mayor Melvin Carter said. "We have a lot to learn about our candidates. I'm looking forward to the process."
Carter said selecting a police chief is one of the most critical decisions a community can make and he is counting on St. Paul residents to play a major role.
"Some public forums that we will have in the coming weeks, we are going to be inviting residents to submit either feedback or potential interview questions," Carter said.
Those forums are scheduled for Oct. 11 at Washington Technology Magnet School (6 p.m.) and Oct. 12 at the St. Paul Event Center (11:30 a.m.).
"It's also a blessing to be able to serve a city where our local police department can feed so many strong candidates for chief for our community. That's something we shouldn't take for granted either."
On Monday, the Police Chief Examining Committee -- headed by Kathy Lantry and Sasha Cotton -- advanced five candidates: Dr. Jaqueline Bailey-Davis, Pamela Barragan, Kurtis Hallstrom, Axel Henry, and Stacy Murphy.
- Dr. Jacqueline Bailey-Davis became a uniformed officer for Philadelphia Police Department in 1997, and currently serves as Police Staff Inspector in the Standards and Accountability Division and Audits.
- Pamela Barragan has been a uniformed officer for SPPD since 1996 and currently serves as Unit Commander for Community Partnership.
- Kurtis Hallstrom joined SPPD in 1999. He is currently the Senior Commander responsible for the leadership and management of the Eastern District.
- Axel Henry has been with the force since 1998 and is currently the Commander for the Narcotics, Financial Intelligence and Human Trafficking Division.
- Stacy Murphy joined SPPD in 2002 and is the Assistant Chief of Police who oversees day to day operations of 563 sworn employees, civilian staff and 92 volunteers.
"It's one of our highest priorities right now obviously to get this done right, and so our hope is in the next several weeks at least to have a final decision made," Carter said.
The chief will be appointed for the next six years.
Earlier this year, former chief Todd Axtell stepped out of the role, and Jeremy Ellison has been serving as interim chief. Axtell decided to pursue a career in police consulting with Assistant Chief Robert Thomasser.
