Police chief a crucial decision

In a tough time for any police chief anywhere, the largest police department in Kansas needs a leader with a strong resume and broad skill set. Fortunately for Wichita, the two remaining finalists to become police chief, Terri Moses and Joel Fitzgerald, are both highly respected law enforcement veterans with the right experience.

Moses, executive director of safety services for Wichita’s USD 259 since 2013, certainly knows the job and territory, having served as deputy Wichita police chief for 18 of the 32 years she spent in the Wichita Police Department.

The experience of Fitzgerald, chief in Allentown, Pa., since 2013, is that of a law enforcement professional on the rise. He also led a narcotics unit in Philadelphia and served as chief in Missouri City, Texas. His fresh perspective and mix of experiences, including with community policing in a big city, could be what’s needed to take the Wichita Police Department to the next level.

That either finalist could be a good fit reflects well on the process so far. The search has taken much longer than many would have expected – or might have preferred – when Chief Norman Williams retired a year ago.

But after Williams’ 14-year tenure, the thorough organizational assessment and community engagement processes sought by City Manager Robert Layton and conducted with the help of Wichita State University’s Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs have positioned the Police Department and city well for what comes next. Involving a well-chosen citizens advisory panel in interviewing semifinalists was a crucial step.

A key opportunity for citizens to gain information and have input comes at a public forum with Moses and Fitzgerald from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Century II Convention Hall, as well as in the opportunities to suggest questions for them through 9 a.m. Monday via wichita.gov and Activate Wichita.

Wichita’s next top cop needs to be not only a professional manager of 836 employees and an $82 million budget but also an effective communicator, especially when issues arise that test or fracture the working relationship between law enforcement and citizens.

Events in Wichita and around the nation also continue to underscore the need for policing to be as seamless as possible throughout the area, with good coordination among jurisdictions every day as well as when crises arise. The next chief will have to work closely with Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter on the overdue relocation of the joint city-county law enforcement training center.

Other timely challenges await, including getting the department and community comfortable with the new use of body-worn cameras across the police force. But efforts to promote transparency shouldn’t stop there.

As last year’s “No Ferguson Here” gathering showed, there is room for improvement when it comes to the public’s ability to trust in police and accountability for officers’ actions, especially regarding alleged racial profiling and deadly confrontations with citizens. Increasing ethnic diversity on the police force should be among the next chief’s goals.

As citizens get to know the two finalists, the community should help guide Layton to make the right choice for police and citizen relations, public safety and the city’s future.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Police chief a crucial decision."