I hope that they get a good chief, not one like that last one. One that is better then the one that they had before Dennis Hegewood. Dennis was a good guy, and real personable but he was not in a position that he was ready to handle. He was in over his head and ultimately he was forced to either Resign or get Fired from the contract that he had just signed. He probably had the Atascedero Police Contract offered and he wanted to take it, but to do so he resigned , because they would not give him a contract had he had he been fired.
Now Michael Meyers, I never worked for him but from what everyone told me that worked with him they never trusted him even when he made a promise. How can you go through life like that. No one believing you. He must not have had any friends. I feel bad For Barbara McGee for she is supposed to be his Girl Friend. Or even more who knows. But I still feel for her, having gone out with him and believed him.
Now we are to the stage of getting another Chief, this time I wonder if they will have the right guy, it sounds like they have made better precautions then the last time, having the Rialto Police Benefit Assoc. More involved in the Interview Process and all. That is a good thing. Finally they are doing something right. We will see what happens with optimism, and an open mind.
BSRanch
Screening time
Chief candidates to be quizzed
Robert Rogers, Staff Writer
RIALTO - An ambitious plan to rebuild the Police Department moves ahead Thursday as candidates for chief are screened by a panel of politicos, police and others.
Eight candidates vying to be Rialto's top cop will face an eight-member committee: Mayor Grace Vargas, Councilman Ed Scott, former Mayor Ray Farmer, City Administrator Henry Garcia, police union president Andrew Pilcher, resident Jerry Gutierrez, interim Police Chief Frank Scialdone and Redlands Police Chief Jim Bueermann.
The department's and the city's futures hinge to some degree on who takes the reins. The interviews begin at 9 a.m. Thursday and could stretch into the evening hours. The panel's job is to whittle the field from eight to three.
"The next chief will be getting a Police Department that's in the process of mending itself," said interim Deputy Chief Tim Ousley. "And that's why getting the right leadership is critically important in this case."
City leadership has stayed mum about the candidates' identities, saying that publicizing the names of applicants will taint the selection process and negatively impact the candidates, most of whom work in other police agencies.
At least two of the candidates occupy leadership positions in nearby departments.
Eighteen people applied and eight were selected to be interviewed, Scialdone said.
Garcia will interview the top three candidates emerging from Thursday's screening and make a recommendation to the City Council, which must give final approval.
Final selection for the $160,000-a-year post will also require background checks, a physical, drug screening and psychological examination.
While city officials say the process has been smooth, it is behind schedule. In an April 5 memorandum recommending organizational changes, qualities sought in the next chief and a transition plan, the interview process was expected to take place the week of June 19, with the new chief taking over in mid to late July.
"(A start date of) Aug. 1 would be nice, but it's pushing it a little bit," Ousley said.
After a rancorous battle that raged from September, when the council voted to disband the Police Department, to spring, when pro-department forces prevailed, all parties agree on the importance of the correct selection.
"The interviews Thursday are going to go all day," Councilman Scott said. "This is going to be as thorough and comprehensive a process as possible."
The council ordered a study by a Claremont College research institute that stirred anew the rumblings of discontent with the force among city leaders. The study, commissioned after the decision to preserve the Police Department, concluded that the city erred in that determination.
"By every metric, the proposed contract with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department would provide a higher level of police service at a lower cost," the 84-page Rose Institute report said.
But the Police Department will endure, thanks to an ordinance the council adopted last month that requires it be maintained.
Ousley said the Police Department is understaffed but capable of returning to premiere status.
"The next chief will be getting a department that has seen a lot of people move on but has a lot of good people left."
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