St. Paul residents preview next chief of police in public forums

The five finalist candidates for the job of St. Paul's next police chief met with the public this week, answering questions about their credentials, priorities and what they would do if hired.

The finalists, including four who already work for the Police Department, spoke Tuesday and Wednesday during public forums, where they fielded questions from more than than 100 people in attendance.

Jonathan Price, a lifelong St. Paul resident at Tuesday's gathering, said community input has been missing from previous selection processes.

"When I was a young adult [we] really didn't have this," Price said. "As time moved on, the citizens of the city said, 'We want a voice, and we want some input into who is going to be chief of our police.'

"This process is what's been missing from previous times, and that's getting the community input in the chief selection — letting them hear from us as community members who live and see the violence, the crime, day by day.

"We want a voice in who our chief of police is going to be," Price said.

The finalists were questioned on such topics as their accomplishments and experiences, and how they would improve police officers' well-being. Their answers varied, drawing from public safety work inside and outside the city. But most candidates agreed that addressing crime in St. Paul is paramount.

"The biggest public safety threat, I believe from the research that I've conducted, is gun violence," said Jacqueline Bailey-Davis, a police staff inspector with the Philadelphia Police Department.

A big factor, she said, is poverty. "Poverty is a wicked problem," Bailey-Davis said. "'Wicked problem' meaning that it's difficult to solve because it's changing."

Pamela Barragan, a St. Paul police unit commander for community partnerships, said crime among youth must be addressed.

"We are not teaching our kids to be accountable for their choices, and they think that crime is OK," Barragan said.

"We need to make sure that we are giving hope to our juveniles. We need to make sure that we are teaching them to be accountable for their choices. We need to make sure that our youth feel that they belong in this city and they can do better."

Addressing crime has been one of the focal points for Mayor Melvin Carter, who funneled millions in federal dollars toward crime prevention and reduction. That work may help foster community-oriented policing work, which finalists focused on when asked about relating with residents.

"The tragic death of George Floyd that we all experienced in 2020 was unlike anything that any of us have experienced in our careers," said St. Paul Assistant Police Chief Stacy Murphy.

"It really brought a whole new level of community partnership … partnerships that we built will be our cornerstone of what makes us St. Paul, and what's really going to help move us forward in the right direction."

Axel Henry, a St. Paul police narcotics commander, said it's important to involve residents in some of the Police Department's work.

"I think the new way that our public is asking us to police our communities is to police it with us," Henry said. "That's how we create credibility and authenticity in our communities, and those are really where the answers for our future problems lie."

"There's no parts of our community that wants to tolerate or even condone any semblance of violent crime. Our communities are tired. They're scared," said Kurtis Hallstrom, a senior St. Paul police commander.

"If we listen to the community, they'll give us the answers. At the same time, they're also going to tell us where we are going astray."

Carter will next hold one-one-one interviews with the finalists. In early November, he plans to pick the chief, who will serve a six-year term and receive a yearly salary of up to $180,000