The City of Austin announced today that the public will have an opportunity to visit with the five finalists for the police chief during three community forums in June.
The Chief of Police will oversee a department that employs approximately 2,000 uniform and civilian personnel and has a current budget of more than $183 million. The final candidate selected will succeed former Austin Police Chief Stan Knee who left the department in 2006.
The community meetings will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, June 11, and 8:30 a.m. and noon Tuesday, June 12. All three meetings will be at the Lester E. Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road.
The public is encouraged to attend any of these meetings and visit with the five police chief candidates. Feedback from these sessions will be utilized in making a final recommendation for the position.
Information on the five candidates
The five police chief candidates include:
* Art Acevedo (Sacramento, Calif.) – California Highway Patrol,
Planning and Analysis Division Chief, Division Commander. More than 20 years
of law enforcement experience including the last two heading the CHP's most
complex and busiest division at its headquarters. Previously, he served as
the second highest ranking office in Los Angeles County overseeing a $118
million budget with 1,300 sworn police officers.
* Jimmie L. Dotson (The Woodlands, Texas) – Community Associations
of The Woodlands, Law Enforcement Consultant. More than 30 years of law
enforcement experience including Chief of Police in Chattanooga, Tenn., and
Executive Assistant Chief of Police for the City of Houston, serving a city
of $1.9 million where he spent 23 of his 30 years in law enforcement.
* Cathy J. Ellison (Austin, Texas) – City of Austin, Acting Police
Chief. More than 25 years of law enforcement experience with APD. Ellison
worked through the ranks beginning as a patrol officer in 1979 before
becoming the highest ranking African American female officer in Austin's
history.
* Roger Reinke (Naples, Fla.) – City of Marco Island, Fla., Chief of
Police. More than 30 years of law enforcement experience including Assistant
Chief of Police in Milwaukee, Wis., a city of similar population to Austin
where he spent 27 years in law enforcement. Reinke has served as Police
Chief of the southwest Florida island community since June 2001.
* Richard D. Wiles (El Paso, Texas) – El Paso, Chief of Police. More
than 20 years of law enforcement experience. Wiles worked through the ranks
of the El Paso department from patrol officer, serving as interim chief for
about 10 months before his appointment as Chief in July 2004. El Paso, a
city of 600,000 and 1,100 commissioned police officers, was recently ranked
as one of the safest major cities in the country.
