AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly 260 pages of resumes and cover letters are from 45 people who want to be the next Austin police chief.
The majority of candidates are police officers and have decades of law enforcement experience. Some don't have any experience, like a real estate investor and an engineer who described himself as not a "woke" person in his cover letter.
But perhaps the more notable candidates are the four women applying for the job.
With more than 35 years of experience, Anne Kirkpatrick became Oakland's first female police chief in 2017.
Media reports state she sued the city for retaliation last year after she was fired for reporting corruption. Kirkpatrick has also worked in Seattle, Memphis and Chicago.
Celeste Murphy is the deputy chief of police for the Atlanta Police Department. She has spent her entire 24 years in law enforcement at Atlanta PD.
Mirtha Ramos became the first female police chief at the DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia. Prior to that, she spent 22 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Finally, Emada Tingirides is deputy chief of police at the Los Angeles Police Department, the second Black female in that position in the department's history. She has spent her 26 years of law enforcement at LAPD.
A list of finalists is expected next month.
The first review of resumes for chief of police began earlier this month, and the recruitment process will remain open until the position is filled, according to the City of Austin Human Resources Department.
According to KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman, the initial list of 25 candidates who had applied as of May 17 included zero women and two candidates with controversial backgrounds. To read about that initial list, click here.
KVUE received an updated list of applicants on Friday through a public records request, which details 45 candidates.
Here is a list of who has applied for the position, in alphabetical order, as of June 25:
- Jerry Afri
- Aaron Ausmus
- Cedric Brown
- Jorge Camarillo
- Jesus Campa
- Joseph Chacon
- Omar Chavez
- Darryl Coleman
- Scott Cunningham
- Nick Diemel
- Michael Drake
- Joel Fitzgerald
- Elvis Guzman
- Ricardo Herrera
- Chad Hoffman
- Sam Holt
- Manuel Jimenez
- James Jones
- Robert Jones
- Paul Junger
- Anne Kirkpatric
- Joseph Lestrange
- Steven McCarver
- Avery Moore
- Ernest Morales
- Celeste Murphy
- Demetrick Pennie
- William Pereyra
- Mirtha Ramos
- Gordon Ramsay
- Steven Rivera
- Roderick Robinson
- Jeffrey Seif
- La'Ron Singletary
- Rick Smith
- Joseph Sullivan
- Emada Tingirides
- James Torres
- Hector Villarrael
- Celvin Walwyn
- Eric Winstrom
- James Womack
- Richard Worley
- Bruce Young
- Michael Zerbonia
Joseph Chacon has served as interim police chief in place of Brian Manley while the department conducts its recruitment process. Chacon was named interim police chief in March.
To lead the recruiting process, Austin has enlisted the help of the national executive search firm Ralph Andersen & Associates. Together, their process of finding the next chief will include three phases:
- Project Management & Candidate Profile Development (March/April)
- Outreach and Recruiting (April/May/June)
- Selection (July/August)
Manley announced in February that he would retire. He became chief in June of 2018 after leading the city through the Austin bombings. Manley officially retired from APD at the end of March.
Click here to see candidates' cover letters and resumes.
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