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Bynum Narrows Field of Tulsa Police Chief Internal Candidates to Four

City of Tulsa

After a round of interviews, Mayor G.T. Bynum has picked four finalists out of the seven internal candidates vying to be the next chief of the Tulsa Police Department.

The announcement comes after a community group led by City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, state Reps. Regina Goodwin and Monroe Nichols, and state Sen. Kevin Matthews sent Bynum a letter last week demanding a national search. Bynum responded to that letter Monday.

Bynum said he still wants the best person in the country for the job, but he’s fairly confident they’re already here.

"I think that we have a very strong group inside of the Tulsa Police Department that the citizens of Tulsa have spent millions of dollars building through their careers in their leadership capacity and their knowledge of our community and the organization," Bynum said.

There will be more public input in the hiring process. Deputy Chief Jonathan Brooks, Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish, Major Wendell Franklin and Deputy Chief Dennis Larsen will go through a second round of interviews Friday. That night, all four will be available at a public forum so citizens can walk up to them and ask questions they’d like answered.

"And I’m hoping that this will be a reflection of the kind of department that this next chief is going to lead: one that’s very accessible to people and eager to be engaged," Bynum said.

The forum will be at Ellen Ochoa Elementary, 12000 E 31st St., in the auditorium at 6 p.m.

While Chief Chuck Jordan’s last day on the job is Jan. 31, Bynum said he’s not up against a hard deadline to hire someone.

"The most important thing for me is that we get the right person, and if I feel before the first of February that we’ve got that person, then we’ll make that announcement. But if I don’t feel that with complete certainty, then we’ll take as long as we’ve got to take," Bynum said.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.