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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
News >  Spokane

No internal candidates have applied for Spokane police chief job

During the grand opening of the Spokane Police Hillyard Precinct, Spokane Police Captain Craig Meidl, gives a tour of the building located at the corner of N. Market Street and E. Diamond Avenue, Tuesday, March 17, 2015.  (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
During the grand opening of the Spokane Police Hillyard Precinct, Spokane Police Captain Craig Meidl, gives a tour of the building located at the corner of N. Market Street and E. Diamond Avenue, Tuesday, March 17, 2015. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review) Buy this photo

With a week left to go before Spokane closes applications for a new police chief, the city already has 17 candidates to consider.

That’s more than the 13 applicants Spokane received during the 2012 search that ended with the hiring of Frank Straub.

Heather Lowe, the city’s human resources director, said last week it’s common to receive an influx of applications right before the deadline, so the city will likely have a bigger pool when the review of applications starts.

City spokesman Brian Coddington said no candidates from inside the Spokane Police Department have applied. Assistant Chief Craig Meidl, who’s currently the highest-ranking commissioned officer in the department, has said he does not intend to apply.

Coddington said he was not aware of the geographic breakdown of candidates and could not say whether any were from Washington.

The city has been working with a hiring firm, Strategic Government Resources, to identify candidates. The firm will review applicants next week and begin working to identify finalists to pass along to the city this summer.

This article was updated on May 11, 2016 to clarify Brian Coddington’s statements about the applicant pool.

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