Little Rock pares list for police job to 4 finalists

2 assistant chiefs, applicants from Oklahoma, LA remain

The four finalists for Little Rock police chief are, from left to right, Little Rock Assistant Chiefs Hayward Finks and Alice Fulk, Norman Police Chief Keith Humphrey and retired Los Angeles Police Department Commander Todd Chamberlain.
The four finalists for Little Rock police chief are, from left to right, Little Rock Assistant Chiefs Hayward Finks and Alice Fulk, Norman Police Chief Keith Humphrey and retired Los Angeles Police Department Commander Todd Chamberlain.

Two assistant chiefs join police leaders from Oklahoma and California as the four finalists to become Little Rock's next police chief, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. announced Tuesday.

Fewer than two weeks after releasing a list of 10 applicants, Scott on Tuesday said in a release that assistant chiefs Hayward Finks and Alice Fulk along with Norman, Okla., Police Chief Keith Humphrey and Todd Chamberlain, a retired Los Angeles police commander, will travel to Little Rock in the coming weeks to interview for the position.

"There's a great group of people in the top four, and I'm honored to be part of it," said Fulk, who would be the first female police chief in the department's history. "I'm just really excited to move forward in the process. I'm excited to sit down ... and talk about some visions for the future."

Scott said the city will host community forums for members of the public to meet the candidates. Scott said those public forums could begin as early as Feb. 24, depending on the finalists' schedules.

The four were chosen from a list of 51 people who submitted applications by Jan. 1 to be the chief. The position oversees more than 594 officers and a $75.7 million budget and earns a maximum salary of $142,663, according to application materials from the city.

The applications opened in November after former Chief Kenton Buckner announced he had taken a job as police chief in Syracuse, N.Y. Little Rock's three assistant chiefs -- Fulk, Finks and Wayne Bewley -- have served as the interim chief on a rotating basis since Buckner left.

Bewley is currently the interim chief, but will turn the job back over to Fulk on Feb. 20.

"We will not be rushed on this decision," Scott said when asked whether his administration had a timeline for hiring the police chief. "We have to make sure it's well thought out."

Scott said Tuesday that the leadership team he appointed interviewed the external candidates via video chat and the local candidates in person in order to narrow the list from 10 to four.

Next, Scott said, each of the four finalists will interview with him and answer residents' questions at a community forum.

"I wanted to make sure I was not involved in the top 10 list," Scott said. "I relied heavily on my leadership team."

Scott said he wants to hear input from the city Board of Directors and the public before choosing the police chief.

"I want to make sure I, as an elected official, hear their thoughts and who they think is the best candidate for our community," Scott said.

Despite two of the candidates being internal, Scott said his search team has no preference for internal or external hires. Rather, he said he's looking for the best fit for the community, regardless of whether they've worked in Little Rock.

The city has hired only one chief from inside the department since 1988.

Finks joined the department in 1988 as a cadet and has been an assistant chief since 2012, according to his application materials. He was assigned to the first gang unit to address violent crime in the 1990s and was the first officer assigned to the Alert Center as a community-oriented officer.

"I am very thankful to have been named a top four candidate from such a distinguished pool of law enforcement professionals from across the nation," Finks said in a text message Tuesday. "I look forward to the opportunity to further display my credentials and ability to serve the citizens of Little Rock as their next police chief."

Finks is currently the assistant chief of the field services bureau and supervises the 12th Street Station Division, Southwest Division, Northwest Division and the Special Operations Division.

He has a bachelor's degree in emergency services management from Bethel University.

Fulk began as an officer 1992 and became the first female assistant chief in department's history in 2015. Fulk held positions in investigations, patrol, training, records and support divisions before becoming the assistant chief of the department's executive bureau.

She graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and from Webster University with a master's in human resource management.

Humphrey, who has been police chief in Norman, Okla., since 2011, said the news of his being a finalist is still somewhat surreal, but he's looking forward to the next step in the process.

"I want the citizens to know they have someone who wants to be there," Humphrey said. "I'm not looking for a steppingstone. I'll be there for as long as they'll have me."

Humphrey, who began his career as a police officer in 1988 in Fort Worth, led the Lancaster Police Department in Texas and was an officer in Arlington, Texas, for 13 years, according to his application materials.

Humphrey left the Arlington Police Department -- which serves a population of 360,000 -- as a commander over the crime scene search unit. He has a bachelor's degree in management from Texas A&M University at Commerce and a master's degree in leadership from Amberton University.

Chamberlain retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in December 2017, and has since taught criminal-justice courses at California State University at Los Angeles, according to his resume. Chamberlain was a commander in the department for two years and was an officer for at least 12 years.

Before becoming commander, Chamberlain oversaw the patrol, detectives, gangs, community relations and narcotics divisions and investigated officer-involved shootings in the force investigation division, his resume said.

Calls and an email sent to Chamberlain were not returned Tuesday.

Metro on 02/13/2019

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