Greenfield asks public’s help to find new police chief
The City of Greenfield held a special meeting Wednesday to hear from people about what they would like to see in a new police chief.
The city hasn’t had a chief since Adele Frese left to take over in Salinas last year.
Now the city manager wants to work with the community to find the right person to fill that role.
The rape of a 14 year old girl and four teens arrested for the horrific crime has people in Greenfield talking about leadership at the police department.
“It’s important for us to have somebody that is trustworthy so that our small community doesn’t make those headlines that have come out recently,” said Greenfield resident Estrella Caballero.
That’s part of the reason city leaders wanted to get people involved in finding a new police chief.
Though Wednesday night’s meeting didn’t draw a huge crowd, those who showed up were vocal.
City Manager Jaime Fontes says it’s part of the process the city goes through before posting the position.
“This will be the basis for putting the job description together that will make up the candidate pool so this is the first step before we see what kind of candidates apply based on the description we put together,” Fontes said.
“What a lot of the people are looking for here is someone to lead us,” said Greenfield resident Brook Ballard, “Not just to lead but to lead by example rather than just what he says.”
Though there’s no target date yet on when the new police chief will be hired, the city manager says the department is in good hands.
“We have Chief Tony Sollecito who comes to us after a stellar career in law enforcement,” Fontes said, “He was chief in Marina, he was interim chief in King City.”
Now the city and community can focus on finding the right replacement.
“It’s extremely important because one of the most important decisions that a city makes is the selection of a new chief of police,” Fontes said.
The city manager ultimately hires the new police chief but candidates will go through different committees and the city council before a decision is made.
