City of Cedar Rapids gives update on search for police chief

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Cedar Rapids is a step closer to looking for candidates for chief of police five months after its top law enforcement official stepped aside.

Former Chief Wayne Jerman announced his retirement in April after state law forced him from his post because he “aged out” of his police certification. Chief Jerman had spent the past 11 years as chief. The state code sets the limit at 65 for peace officers in Iowa.

On Monday night, the city’s Safety and Youth Services Committee got a chance to find out what citizens want in a new police chief. A community survey of 650 people listed some of those top priorities.

“Areas listed in bold here are community engagement, technology advancement, diversity and inclusion, collaborative partnerships, and transparency,’ said Assistant to the City Manager, Amanda Grieder.

Grieder said the city spent the last month and a half collecting these surveys. The next step was to take that information and work with the International Association of Chiefs of Police to find the right candidate for the job.

“After we start receiving applications when we feel we have a good candidate pool, we would move to the screening and evaluation phase,” she said.

Grieder said they plan to post the job by next Monday, but admitted it wasn’t clear how long the process could take.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll have somebody by the end of the year, but it really depends on how many people apply and how quickly they apply,” said Grieder.

Grieder said they were still looking for feedback. She said you can send her an email or to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.