Three Police Chief Finalists Interviewed Field Of 77 Narrowed To Trio From Chicago, Kennewick, Oklahoma City

The city’s beauty and a professional police force convinced the leading candidates to seek the job of Coeur d’Alene police chief.

The three finalists give the city the options of an expert who trains other departments how to deal with emergency situations; a forensics expert from the second-largest police force in the nation; and an assistant chief familiar with Northwest issues.

“Overall, I thought they all have what I think are excellent qualifications and experience,” said Mayor Steve Judy, who sat on a panel that interviewed the three candidates last week. “And, they all presented themselves well.”

The finalists chosen out of a field of 77 are Maj. Garold Spencer, a division commander with the Oklahoma City Police Department; Thomas Cronin, commander of the Forensic Services Division of the Chicago Police Department; and Robert Gross, assistant chief of the Kennewick Police Department.

They all have visited Coeur d’Alene at their own expense, interviewed with a panel of city officials for about an hour, given 30-minute presentations on how to solve a fictitious emergency situation, and taken a tour of the Lake City.

Judy said he hopes to send a city representative to the finalist’s home to see how he works at his current department before the city hires a chief to replace retiring Dave Scates.

Garold Spencer

Spencer has the most education and the distinction of responding to the nation’s deadliest domestic terrorist attack.

In 1995, Spencer was the commander of the Emergency Response Team during the 18-day rescue effort following the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing that killed 168 people.

“The experience with the bombing was quite a massive undertaking,” Spencer said. “No one had ever seen anything like that before in the United States.”

Spencer, who travels the country to lecture agencies on how to deal with emergency situations, has also tried three times before to be a chief - twice in Oklahoma City and once in Edmond, Okla.

“I think everybody in this business would like the challenge of being chief before they retire,” he said.

Spencer - who went to night school for four years to earn his law degree - did a presentation in Spokane a couple of years ago.

“That’s how I knew how beautiful this place was,” he said. “I spent some time in Coeur d’Alene and loved the place.”

Asked what he thought his chances were, he said: “I feel my resume speaks for itself.”

Thomas Cronin

Cronin almost gave his life for his profession - only two months into the job in 1969.

He responded with 10 other officers to a shootout and took a hollow-point bullet through the back.

“I was pronounced dead at the hospital,” said Cronin, who survived thanks to the talents of a Vietnam War-trained surgeon. “When you leave your blood on the streets, it will be very difficult to leave.”

Still, Cronin said he wants Coeur d’Alene to be the place where he sees his career wind to a close.

“I see this as a calling,” Cronin said. “A lot of people are in law enforcement for a paycheck. That’s never been me.”

Cronin’s father was a railroad man, and Cronin and his five siblings traveled by train on many a family trip. That hobby continued and landed Cronin in Spokane in 1990.

“I rented a car and drove to Coeur d’Alene. I said, `Wow. That’s where I want to live.”’ Cronin, a nationally renowned criminal personality profiler, has trained FBI, CIA, and state and local hostage negotiators.

He’s also helped handle situations ranging from visits by the pope to demonstrations by the Black Panthers.

“I think I’m the best guy for the job,” he said. “I don’t even know who the other two (candidates) are. I’m not bragging. I just think I am.”

Robert Gross

Gross has traveled half a dozen times to Coeur d’Alene and knows the area well.

“When I finally decided to become a chief, I asked my wife what area she wanted to be in,” Gross said. “She said, `Coeur d’Alene.”’ That was two years ago. Then the job opened.

“I decided this is a community I could enjoy living in, where I could enjoy being chief and where I could make a difference,” he said.

Gross - who developed Kennewick’s student resource officer program - knows growth. In his 26 years on the job, he has seen Kennewick grow from 23,000 to 54,000 people. He’s also witnessed the Northwest’s growing methamphetamine problem.

“I think my proximity to Coeur d’Alene may give me an advantage (over the other finalists) because I know the issues and the people’s values,” he said.

Gross - who is the only finalist without a master’s or bachelor’s degree - said he became a cop to help people.

“When I’m done, I would like to look back and say I made a difference,” he said.

He doesn’t know who the committee will pick.

“I just tried to be myself. If that’s what the community wants, I’ll be a good fit,” Gross said. “If not, I probably shouldn’t be here.”

Judy said the city will hire the most qualified candidate - not the candidate who has the best chance to get along with the mayor’s management style.

Judy scoffs at the idea that he contributed to eight employees leaving - with a combined experience of 133 years - during the last 15 months.

“I think that’s a joke. Anybody who points at me as the source of the problem - that’s baloney,” he said. “I can’t make any decision for hiring or firing. It’s done by everyone.”

Judy said he hopes to avoid another situation like the hiring of Dan Dible as city administrator last August.

Judy initially praised the hiring of Dible, but after four months, the men said they didn’t agree on how to manage the city’s 250 employees.

“When you hire someone and it doesn’t work out, you always ask yourself if there was something you could have done better,” Judy said.

All three police chief candidates said they believe they can work with Judy and the City Council.

“When the new chief comes in, I would hope that he sets some goals for the department and asks the council, `What do you want to see from the police department?”’

See profiles by name of candidate

Thomas Clouse can be reached at (208) 765-7130 or by e-mail at tomc@spokesman.com.