Arlington has narrowed its nationwide search for a new police chief to 10 candidates.
The search for a new chief began June 1, about five weeks after former Chief of Police Will Johnson announced he was retiring from the department. Johnson has since taken the job of Chief of Police for Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway, according to our partners at The Dallas Morning News.
The city said Tuesday they began with a list of 74 qualified candidates and narrowed that pool to 24 in mid-August. Following another round of interviews, the city has trimmed the list to 10.
Of the 10 remaining candidates, four are internal and one is from Fort Worth. The other five candidates are coming from out of state.
- Alexander Jones, Police Colonel – Baltimore County Police Department
- Charles Ramirez, Assistant Chief - Support Bureau – Fort Worth Police Department
- Derrick Wood, Inspector - Southwest Division – Philadelphia Police Department
- Jaime Ayala, Assistant Police Chief - Support Operations Bureau – Arlington Police Department
- Jason Lando, Commander – Investigations Branch/Narcotics & Vice – Pittsburgh Bureau of Police
- Joseph Gramaglia, Deputy Police Commissioner – Operations/Homeland Security – Buffalo Police Department
- Kevin Kolbye, Assistant Police Chief – Arlington Police Department
- Osbaldo Flores, Deputy Chief – Field Operations – Arlington Police Department
- Perry Tarrant, Chief Operating Officer/Partner – Tri-9 Solutions, LLC
- Tarrick McGuire, Deputy Police Chief – Arlington Police Department
The department is currently being co-led by Assistant Chief Jaime Ayala and Assistant Chief Kevin Kolbye, both of whom remain in the running for the chief's job.
“We cast a wide net when we started the search for Arlington’s next police chief and I’m pleased that our search has led to a strong, diverse group of police leaders from around the country and at home for us to consider,” said City Manager Trey Yelverton. “As we start the next round of interviews, we look forward to involving our stakeholders in a purposeful way to help us be better informed about the community’s interests in this important position.”
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The city said the remaining candidates "will engage in a series of in-person panel interviews, which will include members of the city’s executive leadership team, employee representatives and diverse groups of community leaders."
The city hopes to make a final decision on the next chief either late next month or early November.
