The City of Plant City search for a new police chief drew 100 initial applicants. After the field was narrowed to the final five candidates, City Manager Bill McDaniel invited the public to a meet-and-greet event on Thursday, April 25 at Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center.
Retha Goff Cooper (left) and Arleathia Brown are part of a group that meets with PCPD officers twice a month.
“We do support our police here in Plant City,” said Arleathia Brown. “We have a group that goes to police meetings to make sure that things are being taken care of in our neighborhood. Chief Bradford is leaving, so I want to wish him well, and then I want to know who we are going to get in for the next nice, police chief we can work with.”
“We meet with policemen twice a month. Our chief Bradford is leaving. We are very concerned about who is over us and is going to take care of us,” said Retha Goff Cooper. “We are here to see who our next police chief is going to be and to give input.”
The candidates stood at five tables spread out at areas in the gymnasium to answer questions one-on-one from citizens. Plant Citians had the option to write their opinions on comment cards that City Manager McDaniel would review before making his final decision on which candidate to hire.
Ladies from a fitness class came to meet the candidates. Left to right: Tammy Nelson, Lisa Bradley, Tonina Tetlow
“I saw this advertised. I wanted to come and check out the candidates and ask basic questions to try to formulate an opinion on who I think would be the best for the city,” said Greg Horn. “The format caught me by surprise. I thought it was going to be more of a stage where they gave presentations while the audience sat. But this is very informal….I like this. It gives you a chance to be up close and personal with them.”
Appetizers lined tables in the center of the room to welcome those who took the time to get involved in determining one of the leaders of Plant City. If you missed out on the chance to contribute to this significant decision for the next police chief, you also missed out on deep fried deviled eggs, among other options. It turns out six of these eggs is not too many to eat.
“I am here with my fitness class and we want to get a clear picture of each candidate who is running for the chief of police here in Plant City, said Lisa Bradley. “It is very important to know what is ahead of us in regards to the candidates, and what is going on for our community.”
“I feel that this is a good way to know the candidate without waiting on them to get into office…to get to know them and have input on what is going on with the city,” said Donnell Smith.
“I think this is a great opportunity to meet the candidates, to learn a little bit about their background and their vision for the position they are about to obtain,” said Tammy Nelson, also from the fitness class. No reporters saw anyone from the fitness class eat the deep-fried deviled eggs.
“I want to make sure the right person is getting in,” said Chris Perry.
“Right now we have Chief Bradford. I think he is amazing. Now that he is going to be replaced, I want to make sure the right person is getting in,” said Chris Perry. “It’s nice to get to know each person one-on-one….to try to make my decision.”
A consistent flow of people walked into the auditorium during the evening.
“We are very pleased to offer an opportunity for the community to come in and see our candidates,” said Jack Holland, Assistant City Manager. “It is really eye opening to allow them to interview them one-on-one like this and give us feedback. We really appreciate their feedback. I think we had a good turn out.”
A list of the five finalists is below:
Richard Mills, Jr., oversees the Special Operations Division of the Tampa Police Department.
Chiquita Thomas-Butler, Assistant Chief of Police, City of Miami, Florida.
James McGrew, Assistant Chief of Police, Village of Tequesta, Florida.
Justin Duralia, Supervisory Special Agent, Drug Enforcement Administration, Tampa.
Joseph Centanni, Chief of Police, City of Watervliet, New York.