By Brian Livingston
It may be some time before an assistant chief is named for the Meridian Police Department.
MPD Chief Lee Shelbourn is currently mulling over the test scores and qualifications of the six men who have applied for the position. Shelbourn said he and Meridian Mayor Cheri Barry and Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Mark McDonald don't want to make a hasty decision based on any sort of time constraint.
"I honestly don't know when a new assistant chief will be named," said Shelbourn. "I hate to put any time constraint on this simply because I am trying to get the best possible person. I am continuing to evaluate all the applicants."
Shelbourn said his lack of personal knowledge of the applicants, mainly from not being from Meridian, is causing him to take more time. But in the end that could turn out to be a good thing in the fact it is making him closely scrutinize each and every one of the applicants.
"The mayor and I are reading from the same sheet of music," said Shelbourn. "We both want the same thing for the department and the city of Meridian."
After testing was completed, the list of applicants and their scores was the subject of an initial meeting between Shelbourn, Barry, McDonald and Meridian City Attorney Bill Ready. Shelbourn said Barry then directed him to choose the person he'd most like to see at the position. He said he will then take that prime candidate back to Barry and McDonald for final approval.
"The person I pick may or may not be the assistant chief," Shelbourn admitted.
Testing for the assistant chief's position began Nov. 4 and was completed Nov. 9. It was approved by members of the Civil Service Commission recently.
The highest scores of the six applicants has been posted at the Meridian Civil Service Commission office for several weeks. The names of those persons taking part in the testing are protected by a civil service code of confidentiality. The scores are as follows: 96.96, 93.46, 91.87, 89.39, 88.65, and 86.92.
The final scores were based on one of two testing systems approved by the Civil Service Commission. In the past the testing has involved a system that counts an oral interview as 90 percent of the overall score and the written aspect as 10 percent. But Barry wanted to go back to what she deemed a more accurate and consistent method of getting who she believes will be the best person for the job. That is why this testing cycle uses a method applying 65 percent of the overall score to a written test, 25 percent for an oral interview while the final 10 percent takes into account the longevity of the officer.
In August Capt. Jeff Lewis was named by outgoing mayor John Robert Smith as the new assistant chief to replace the retired Tommy Miller. Lewis' movement up the ladder left his commander of operations slot open. Lt. Dean Harper filled that in with his promotion and advancement in rank to captain. But those new promotions didn't last long once Barry took office.
Barry said at the time that Lewis and Harper were demoted because when they were promoted they didn't take a thorough written and oral examination. She said they would have an opportunity to take the test and could be re-promoted if they scored well enough.
Many Meridianites are watching the assistant chief issue closely. One is Rev. Milton Johnson who is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of Meridian. He, along with many members of the committee, initially opposed Barry's selection of Shelbourn as police chief. Now the committee members have shifted their focus somewhat to who will be Shelbourn's second in command.
"I thought this decision was supposed to be made a week ago," said Johnson last week. "From what I understand the police chief is making his choice as we speak and the mayor is supposed to have the final decision."
Johnson said his concerns aren't about race; they are more about who will protect and serve the community.
"We don't care if the person is black or white," Johnson said. "We need protection."
Sandra Hammon, who says she is just a concerned citizen of Meridian, would also like to see the best person picked to be the assistant chief.
"I think that person should be Jeff Lewis," said Hammon. "I've known him for a long time and I know his dedication to the department and the people of Meridian. But whether Jeff is chosen is out of my hands."
Hammon said she has been impressed with Shelbourn and is relying on him to make the proper choice. An opponent in the beginning to an outside person taking over as chief of the MPD, Hammon has since changed her views.
"I did some research on Shelbourn and he strikes me as someone with an obvious military background and many years of law enforcement experience," she said. "He seems to me a man who will get the job done correctly and I'm going to be watching to see what happens."
