Texan, Minnesotan are finalists for Wichita police chief

A Minnesota police chief and a Texas assistant police chief are finalists for the police chief job in Wichita.

City Manager Robert Layton announced the two finalists Friday at City Hall.

Gordon Ramsay, 43, has been chief in Duluth, Minn., since 2006. He grew up in Duluth and began his police career in Wisconsin, where he worked for several years before returning to Duluth, according to that city’s website. He has been a police officer for 22 years, according to a city of Wichita news release.

Ramsay said on a Facebook page that although he is excited to be a finalist in Wichita, “The thought of leaving here (Duluth) is bittersweet. I grew up in Duluth, have deep, deep roots here. ... Wichita is a friendly, welcoming community that has captivated my interest and offers new challenges.”

The other finalist, Jeff Spivey, 48, has been an assistant chief in Irving, Texas, since 2011 and started his police career there in 1986, according to Irving’s website.

Spivey said in a phone call Friday: “I’m honored to have made it to the final two.” He said he was excited to be coming to Wichita for interviews and a public forum.

Both finalists are well qualified and have extensive backgrounds in law enforcement, including with current issues such as body-worn cameras, Layton said. Both have experience in community policing.

Layton acknowledged that the police chief selection has taken longer than in previous years but said “we need to get the right person.”

Citizens, staff and community stakeholders have had input on the finalists, said Ken Evans, a spokesman for the city.

Both finalists work for departments smaller than Wichita’s. Irving’s department is about two-thirds as large as Wichita’s; Duluth’s is about one-fourth the size of Wichita’s.

Duluth, in northeastern Minnesota on the shore of Lake Superior, had an estimated population of about 86,000 in 2014. Irving, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, had an estimated population of about 232,000 in 2014. Wichita’s population is about 388,000.

In a news release Friday, the city of Wichita provided this background on each of the finalists:

▪ Ramsay heads a department with a $25 million budget and more than 200 employees, “has extensive experience in community policing and relationship building” and has worked with diverse groups, including the NAACP and American Indian Commission and Duluth’s first civilian review board. “Under Ramsay’s leadership the department has received high marks from residents in recent surveys” and recognition for community policing by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He is past president of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association. He has a master’s degree in management from the College of St. Scholastica and a bachelor’s degree in criminology and sociology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

▪ Spivey has been in law enforcement for 28 years, working as a patrol officer and in investigations and narcotics. As assistant chief, he has headed field operations and administrative services. He has led efforts to acquire technology including body-worn cameras and software for predictive policing and facial recognition. “He developed and currently teaches a program designed to reshape the culture of law enforcement. ... Spivey has focused on building relationships and trust in the community.” He helped develop a “pipeline of minority applicants from the community to the police department.” He has a master’s degree in criminal justice leadership and management from Sam Houston State University and a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and science from Midwestern State University.

The two finalists emerged from a pool of 62 applicants that was narrowed to seven finalists last month.

Layton plans to name the new chief later this month.

A public forum on the selection will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 14 at Century II Convention Hall, 225 W. Douglas. Those attending can question the candidates. Layton will moderate the forum and ask questions posed in advance by the public. Questions can be submitted at www.activate-wichita.com and www.wichita.gov.

Wichita has been without a permanent chief for more than a year, since Norman Williams retired in September 2014. But Layton said that the department has still had strong leadership during the interim.

The Wichita chief oversees the state’s largest police department, with a budget of almost $82 million and 836 employees. The chief’s job opening has been advertised as paying $91,146 to $176,024 a year.

This is the second round of a search for a new chief. In September, Layton said he was starting over because one finalist, Joel Fitzgerald of Pennsylvania, had rejected his offer. Fitzgerald accepted the chief’s job in Fort Worth. The other finalist, Terri Moses, didn’t have the right “skill set,” Layton said, noting that she had spent most of her career in the Wichita Police Department and that he was focused on getting someone from the outside because of a surprising “commonality” in feedback that people want a new and different perspective.

Neither of the two current finalists were applicants in the first round of the search, Layton said.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Texan, Minnesotan are finalists for Wichita police chief."