Tulsa Has New Police Chief, Temporarily

Tulsa's mayor named a new police chief Friday morning, but he's only an interim, and the search for a permanent chief continues. David Bostrom is already on the job, but isn't sure how long

Friday, May 18th 2007, 2:07 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa's mayor named a new police chief Friday morning, but he's only an interim, and the search for a permanent chief continues. David Bostrom is already on the job, but isn't sure how long he'll need to stay there. Bostrom is not a candidate for the job permanently, and the mayor might pick his replacement at anytime. But, The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports, he brings some expertise cutting violent crime to the job, and he knows how to get neighborhoods involved.

The mayor says she wanted some fresh ideas for the Tulsa Police Department, and didn't want to wait until a new, permanent chief comes on board.

Her pick for interim chief is David Bostrom, a police consultant who rose through the ranks of the Washington D.C. police department and served as a public safety commander in Wilmington, Delaware.

The mayor's orders for him:

"And obviously we want to decrease violent crime we have in the city, but still nationally, we're higher than we should be and we need to focus on those statistics, people need to feel safe," said Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

Bostrom says he's going to spend the next week working to learn about Tulsa's crime problems from the police and the people.

"And sitting down with the people in a community or neighborhood, working with them, identifying the most serious problem affecting that community and coming up with a way to address that problem using the community and the police as real partners," Interim Tulsa Police Chief David Bostrom said.

Taylor says she's not sure how long the interim will be on the job, because she's not sure what she can do next on hiring a permanent chief.

"I certainly hope to move forward with a permanent police chief search, finding the best candidate for that job, shortly, but I'm really waiting on the lawyers to give me a determination of what my options are," said Taylor.

The police union says on paper, Bostrom seems qualified, but after six changes at the top in a year and a half, they're ready for some stability.

"The big concern with the officers is just not knowing who it's going to be, they're anxious and nervous about who their next boss is going to be," Darren Filak with the Tulsa FOP Lodge said.

Even though he's an interim, Bostrom will be issued a badge and gun and uniform.

To read David Bostromâ€™s resume, click here.

For David Bostromâ€™s biography, click here.

Watch the video: Mayor Announces Interim Police Chief

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