City officials have identified one finalist for the job of Statesboro Police Department chief, Charles “Mike” Broadhead, currently chief of police in Riverton, Wyoming. Broadhead told the Statesboro Herald he intends to accept the job offer for personal and professional reasons.

Riverton is in the center of the state, where winter temperatures dip lower than -30 degrees. But after visiting Statesboro twice this warm February, he reports noticing other things than a contrast in climate.

“Everywhere I went I made a real effort to talk to people and find out what the community is about and why do people live there, and I found the entire community to be incredibly pleasant,” Broadhead said. “People smile and wave at each other, and it really was a very friendly atmosphere. I was really pleased to see that.”

Professionally, Broadhead, 51, hopes to make his mark as chief of an agency similar in size to the Littleton, Colorado, Police Department where he worked 21 years, rising through the ranks as patrol officer, detective, patrol sergeant, traffic sergeant, detective sergeant, detective lieutenant and staff services lieutenant before leaving for Riverton in December 2009.

In Riverton, population about 11,000, where he has served as chief for seven years now, Broadhead supervises a department with 41 employees, including 28 sworn officers and 13 civilians. The Statesboro Police Department, if fully staffed, would have 74 sworn officers serving a city with about 31,000 residents.

‘Spirit of service’

In Statesboro, he hopes to build on principles of officers taking care of one another and presenting “a true spirit of service” to the community, he said.

“That’s just an exciting opportunity for me to come and really work with these officers and the rest of the staff there to really make sure that that Police Department is maximizing its positive impacts on the community,” Broadhead said.

Before his almost 29 years in municipal police work, Broadhead served from age 18 in the U.S. Army as a military police officer. He has a master’s degree in public administration from American Public University and a graduate certificate from the School for Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University.

His hiring in Statesboro is not yet official, but he has been offered attractive terms he plans to accept, Broadhead said. The exact salary and things such as any help with moving are being worked out, said City Manager Randy Wetmore.

Wetmore plans to wait 14 days before a final decision, as prescribed in the Georgia Open Records Act between release of information on finalists and hiring an agency head. Broadhead said he will then give a full month’s notice in Riverton.

So, he expects to arrive in Statesboro in mid-April, to be joined here by his wife, Kristen, and their sons, Jack, 16, and Cole, 13. That Georgia offers many more educational opportunities for their sons was one of the personal factors in the decision, he said.

Second search

Broadhead’s selection follows a second search for a Statesboro police chief. The first, by the city’s human resources office with input from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police in 2016, drew 21 applicants, and three finalists were introduced to the public in August. But after questions arose about one of the finalists from news reports concerning her previous department, Statesboro officials said they were continuing background investigations.

This occurred during the transition to Wetmore as city manager, and soon after he arrived in the job Sept. 1, Wetmore announced that the search would be relaunched with previous applicants eligible to reapply. City Council in October heard presentations from two consulting firms and chose Developmental Associates LLC, based in Durham, North Carolina, to conduct the search for fees projected at $23,000, not to exceed $30,000.

The second search attracted 45 applicants, including 17 from Georgia and the rest from 19 different states. Six selected applicants were invited to Statesboro Feb. 9-10 for an “assessment center,” an interview process that involved scenarios such as having the would-be chiefs hold a simulated press conference.

Only four of the six invited candidates took part in the assessment centers, after one became ill and another took a different job, said local people who took part in the centers. Another candidate withdrew afterward, leaving three.

About a dozen people, including local residents and professionals in public safety and management, took part in the assessment center observations, Wetmore said.

City department heads and other invited local people then participated in a panel for a follow-up interview of Broadhead.

Wetmore’s decision

“So I just took all of that information from the assessment center, from the groups that had a chance to meet with him, and he was definitely the one who rose to the top,” Wetmore said Thursday afternoon.

“He was the one who we think has the skillset that will help the department move forward, and also I think will be really good for doing some outreach around the city, and  I think he can bring  some stability to the department. …,” Wetmore continued. “I think he has to experience and the temperament to get us to move forward.”

Neither the assessment center nor the panel interview was open to the public. Individual members of Statesboro City Council participated at different stages of this process, but those contacted said that no more than two – less than a quorum – were present at any time.

The appointment is officially Wetmore’s to make. As the council clarified in December 2015, the police chief, like other department heads, is hired by the city manager.

Wetmore was interviewed after city Human Resources Director Jeffery Grant released information on Broadhead, identifying him as the only finalist, and said city employees were informed Thursday morning.

Deputy Chief Robert W. “Rob” Bryan remains Statesboro’s interim police chief, a position he has held since shortly after Wendell Turner resigned as public safety director, effective October 2015, for a job with the Canton Police Department.

City Council then abolished the position of public safety director, in which Turner had supervision over the police and fire departments, and re-established the chief of police title.

“I want to thank Rob Bryan for the work that he has done as the interim police chief,” Wetmore added Thursday. “He has done a good job of keeping the department functioning and moving forward and undertaking some new initiatives while he was doing that.”

The rest of the SPD command staff, officers and employees also pulled together and performed well, Wetmore said, acknowledging that transitions can be “a little trying” and that this one has lasted longer than expected.

Herald reporter Al Hackle may be reached at (912) 489-9458.