With Statesboro Police Chief Charles “Mike” Broadhead set to retire July 1, the city government is preparing to mount a national search for a new police chief with help from the same firm that helped bring Broadhead here more than nine years ago.

“We have engaged Developmental Associates to begin the process of trying to fill that position,” City Manager Charles W. Penny told the mayor and council during their May 19 meeting. “What that will include is we will do focus groups with city employees and the Police Department.”

Consultants from Developmental Associates will also talk to the mayor and council members about what they want to see in the next police chief, Penny said.

In addition to city employees and elected officials, there will in fact be separate focus groups of “criminal justice professionals and, of course, the public,” Statesboro’s city Human Resources Director Demetrius Bynes said in a phone interview Friday.

“On the front end, before we even go to the market to secure applicants for the role, we will receive feedback from all of those groups and then collaborate with Developmental Associates to outline a profile of what we are looking for as a successful candidate,” he said.

The general public’s “focus group” will consist of a “face to face meeting” at City Hall, he added.

These steps will occur before the advertisements for police chief applicants go out. The city staff has no timeline yet for the search.

“The police chief process is usually the most intense process of any of these leadership roles, given the nature of the police chief’s role in an organization in our community, so it’s definitely going to be a collaborative process and an intensive process, but look forward to identifying the right candidate to come lead our Police Department,” Bynes said.

Looking back 9 years

After mentioning Developmental Associates in his remarks to the council last week, Penny said, “They were responsible for the process when we hired Chief Mike, and so we’ll just go back and follow that process again.”

Developmental Associates LLC is based in Durham, North Carolina. Penny came to Statesboro from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where he was also city manager, but that was in July 2019, more than two years after Broadhead arrived as police chief.

Broadhead, now 60, arrived in Statesboro in April 2017 after serving seven years as the chief of police in Riverton, Wyoming. His career began in 1984 as a U.S. Army military police officer. Following his military service, he spent 22 years with the police department in Littleton, Colorado, where he rose through the ranks from patrol officer to lieutenant.

In fact, Broadhead was hired as chief of the Statesboro Police Department during the tenure of previous City Manager Randy Wetmore and term of previous Mayor Jan Moore.

Mayor’s comments

But current Mayor Jonathan McCollar, who unseated Moore with the fall 2017 election, has maintained a positive working relationship with Broadhead, as reflected in comments the mayor made during Tuesday’s meeting.

“Chief, thank you for everything,” McCollar said after Penny announced the search process. Council members and others present applauded, and the mayor continued.

“Chief is the smartest local law enforcement individual I’ve ever met in my life,” he said. “That man knows his business, he has a heart for the people, and the city of Statesboro was extremely fortunate to have him serve.”

McCollar had Penny affirm that the city will hold a retirement reception for Broadhead sometime between now and July 1, but no date has been set.

Speaking May 19, Penny said he had some time yet before he needs to appoint an interim police chief. But he plans to name one, since the city has just over one month to begin the search before Broadhead’s retirement.

Twice chosen firm

This time around, Developmental Associates’ expected fee for guiding and assisting in the search process is $32,900, Bynes said.

Back in late 2016 and through the early months of 2017, Developmental Associates had a contract with the city for fees projected at $23,000 up to a $30,000 cap, and conducted a search that attracted 45 applicants, including 17 from Georgia and the rest from 19 different states. Six were invited to an “assessment center” process, which involved some local people in assessment groups but was not open to the general public.

Only four of the candidates participated in that process, after which another withdrew, and Broadhead was then announced as the only finalist for the job.

That successful recruitment effort followed an aborted search conducted by the city’s human resources office with input from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police earlier in 2016. After it drew 21 applicants, three finalists were introduced to the public. But after questions arose about one of the finalists from news reports concerning her previous department, Statesboro officials said they were continuing background investigations, and ultimately none of the finalists were hired, leading the relaunch with help from Developmental Associates.