Decision on new Woodland police chief delayed to Dec. 1

Woodland may have to wait at least a couple more weeks for a new police chief.

The city began searching for its next police department head more than a year ago, when former chief Rob Stephenson decided to retire. The Woodland City Council interviewed the latest batch of four finalists for the job in late September of this year, expecting to hire one of the candidates within a few weeks.

Now, Mayor Grover Laseke said the vetting process will likely not wrap up until the end of November. Laseke had planned to announce his pick for the job Monday night, but instead he’ll delay it until at least Dec. 1.

“I was anticipating being able to make an announcement but the background check is still not finalized,” Laseke said in an email to The Columbian. “Without a final background check, it is inappropriate to make that announcement at this time.”

The city’s search for a new chief has stalled a number of times in the last year. Laseke restarted the search in February after the councilors expressed a lack of confidence in the selection process, and Laseke did the same in May after councilors rejected his pick, citing ethics violations on the candidate’s record.

The four finalists in this round are Susan Shultz from Bremerton, Mark Daniel from Sherwood, Ore., Jeffery Powell from Grapeland, Texas, and Phillip Crochet from Cedar Park, Texas. Each has more than two decades of experience in law enforcement.

Justin Runquist: 360-735-4547; twitter.com/col_smallcities; justin.runquist@columbian.com