The list of candidates to become the City of Allentown’s next police chief has been narrowed to four and those candidates will meet the public at a town hall meeting on Thursday, October 3 from 7pm-9pm in the Sacred Heart Hospital Auditorium.
The selection of the new chief has been following a process outlined publically in May. The top seven candidates were recently interviewed by a panel of representatives from a cross section of the community. They narrowed the list to a final four. They will appear at the town hall meeting prior to interviewing with Mayor Ed Pawlowski and before any nominee is forwarded to city council.
The four candidates are:
Joel Fitzgerald, Sr.
Chief of Police Missouri City, TX
Former Lieutenant Philadelphia Police Department
Theodore Kohuth
Chief of Police (ret) Whitehall Township Police
Former Captain (ret) Pennsylvania State Police
Charles Rapp
Executive Director Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions
Former Captain, Baltimore County Police Department MD
Ronald Walsh
Deputy Inspector Nassau County Police Department NY
The town hall meeting will be facilitated by Strategic Policy Partnership Chairman and Principal Robert Wasserman and Kutztown University Professor Dr. Gary Cordner.
Each of the candidates will be given 10-to-15 minutes to make a presentation at the town hall meeting. Following a brief recess, they will be asked to respond to written questions submitted by members of the audience.
Pawlowski said, “This is an excellent opportunity for the residents of the city to listen to the candidates and get a feel for the type of leadership they will bring to Allentown. I look forward to hearing the presentations and listening to their answers.”
Free parking for those attending the meeting will be available at both the Fifth Street and Chew Street garages adjacent to the hospital.
The city advertised the available position in July. Chief Roger MacLean retired this month. He and interim Chief Joe Hanna are among a group of senior officers who participated in a one-time Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP enhancement for veteran officers that was included in the police contract that took effect in January 2009. Those officers in the DROP must retire this December.
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