GREENFIELD — The search to find a new chief of police in Greenfield has started in its own backyard.
Mayor Chuck Fewell has first opened the position to officials within the Greenfield Police Department, saying he thinks there are some great police officers who are capable of doing the job.
The application process for any current GPD official interested in the chief’s position closed on Friday, May 14. Fewell and a small group of community leaders, which might include outgoing GPD Chief Jeff Rasche, will look through the applications and start the interview process as soon as possible. Rasche’s last day is Friday, May 28.
Deputy Chief Brian Hartman will run the department until Rasche’s replacement is announced. Hartman is also a candidate for the job.
“I am very interested in becoming the next chief of police here at the Greenfield Police Department,” Hartman said in an email to the Daily Reporter. He has submitted his letter of interest and resume to the city’s human resources department.
“I am very excited at this possible opportunity and believe the mayor will appoint the candidate he feels is best qualified and capable of moving the Greenfield Police Department forward,” Hartman said.
Fewell hopes to have the chief’s position filled as soon as possible, maybe as early as the end of June.
“We’re looking for someone who can take the department to the next level,” Fewell said.
Fewell noted they’re condensing the interview process compared to the procedures that led to the hiring of Rasche in 2016. Then, the mayor formed a search committee of 10 people who vetted candidates as part of a lengthy process. This time, Fewell said, just a few people, including himself, will determine who becomes the next chief of police.
“We’ll see who’s qualified, who wants to be here and what kind of ambition they have and who wants to do the job for the city,” Fewell said.
If the mayor cannot find the person he’s looking for internally, the search will be expanded.
In addition to the standard boxes that candidates must check, Fewell said he is ideally looking for someone who has been in the community and knows the area well. For candidates from outside the department, the criteria will include at least five years of administrative leadership on a police department.
“We want someone who has the ability to lead and can get along with people and has great vision for the city and for the police department for where we want the department to be,” Fewell said. “We can’t do anything but keep trying to get better.”
Fewell, who spent 20 years in law enforcement, knows a police officer’s job is “twice as tough” compared to when he was in the profession. He is looking for a leader who understands today’s pressures surrounding police work.
“I believe in qualified people being brought in and showing us they are the person to handle this position to their greatest ability,” he said.
Whoever gets the job will be expected to build on the department’s strengths.
“I would think that anyone who takes any kind of a leadership role in this city would do what I did when I came in and not undo any good that has been done, but make things better,” Fewell said. “My job right now is not to undo all the good Jeff has done but to build and find the next person who is going to make us better.”
As for Rasche, there will be no big celebration on his final day of work, officials said. Rasche, who noted he has already celebrated his work in law enforcement when he retired from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department to come over to GPD in early 2017, has had enough of goodbye parties. Rasche is just looking forward to retirement and getting on to the next chapter of his life.
“So excited,” Rasche said about his retirement.
