BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont residents will soon know who their new police chief will be.
The four finalists spent Thursday behind closed doors being interviewed. This comes a day after a meet and greet with the community.
Friday, the city council will decide whether to approve the recommendation of the hiring committee and the city manager.
12News spoke to all four candidates and the common theme among them was increased community and police interaction.
The candidates include two men and two women.
They are...
- Kyra Joy Hope - 2nd Deputy Chief, Detroit Police Department
- Jason Plunkett - Assistant Chief, Beaumont Police Department
- Troy Price - Deputy Chief, Vancouver (WA Police Department
- Britta Steinbrenner - Former Chief of Public Safety, Pepperdine University
For some community leaders, they also feel like an increase between community and police interaction is a good thing.
"Well, I think one of the greatest things we want, we want somebody that can bring in more unity," said Pastor and Save Our Children founder J.D. Roberts.
Roberts' daily service to Beaumont as the founder of the Save Our Children nonprofit gives him a unique perspective on what he wants to see in the new police chief.
"The police chief needs to direct more focus on our youth. We look so much at the big stuff, and the big people and we forget about the little people," Roberts said.
Roberts says he wants the city's choice to continue Chief Jimmy Singletary's dedication to police and community involvement.
"We want a police chief that looks at the poor, like he does the rich. Make no differences. Don't look at the color of the skin, but look at the character of the person. That's the kind of police chief that Beaumont needs right now. Jimmy started it," said Roberts.
The Beaumont Police Officers Association (BPOA) released a letter announcing their support of the only local candidate, Plunkett, citing his 33 years of service to the community.
"One of the positive changes that we'll be dealing with will be the the aspect of more community involvement. More of the community businesses to be involved in Beaumont Police Department as partners. That's been one of the things that Assistant Chief Plunkett has done," said BPOA President Kate Dean.
However, not all of the community is on board with a local candidate. South End Charlton Pollard Greater Historical Community Association President Chris Jones wants the city's next top cop to have a fresh and outside perspective.
"I would definitely like to see somebody outside of our area. Sharing the best practices is one of the best ways to find disparities and build programs that we would assume don't work," said Jones.
City Manager Kenneth Williams is set to bring his decision for the new chief on Friday, but the rest of city council will have the final say. They'll be voting on the recommendation at 3 p.m.