CdA narrows police chief field

A Coeur d’Alene police captain, an Idaho State Police captain and an Omaha, Neb., deputy police chief are vying to replace retiring Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Wendy Carpenter.

Steve Childers, Wayne Longo and Eric Buske were chosen from a field of 47 candidates who interviewed for the job last Wednesday. The city released the finalists’ names Tuesday afternoon but declined to release additional information.

All three will be interviewed again July 2. Pam McDonald, the city’s human resources director, said she’s unsure when the city will announce Carpenter’s replacement. The position pays $72,500 to $102,000 annually.

Buske, 45, is deputy police chief for the Omaha Police Department, in charge of criminal investigations. The Nebraska native has been with the department 23 years, he said in a telephone interview.

He has had a range of assignments, from community policing to narcotics. Buske has commanded three of four bureaus in the department.

Having reached the point where he can retire from Omaha, Buske said he and his wife have the freedom to move anywhere. Coeur d’Alene’s beauty was appealing, he said.

“It seems to be a very nice town,” he said. The father of five has three grandchildren and is expecting another.

Buske has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Bellevue University in Nebraska and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nebraska in Omaha. He is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy.

Childers, 40, a patrol captain, has lived in North Idaho 18 years and has worked with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department since 1987. He started as a reserve officer, then was a patrol officer and detective.

Department Spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood said Childers has been a field training officer and in charge of the drug task force.

Childers has been selected to attend the FBI National Academy July through September.

He did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Longo was not immediately available for comment, either. He moved from New York to Idaho in 1975 to take a job with the State Police in Lewiston. He transferred to Coeur d’Alene a year later.

He was made captain of the patrol division of the agency’s North Idaho region in 2002. Prior to that, he spent 24 years as a drug detective for the State Police in the Coeur d’Alene area.

After studying police science in community college, Longo earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is married with two children.