TPD Chief Candidate Turns Down Job Offer

There are new developments in the search for Tulsa's next police chief. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor asked current Deputy Chief Bill Wells to consider the position, but Wells said no thanks. News On

Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 4:29 pm

By: News On 6

There are new developments in the search for Tulsa's next police chief. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor asked current Deputy Chief Bill Wells to consider the position, but Wells said no thanks. News On 6 anchor Terry Hood reports the mayor says talks broke down when the two had fundamental disagreements about the job.

Deputy Chief Bill Wells was in charge of the police department when Mayor Kathy Taylor took office. He was acting chief while Chief Dave Been was on administrative leave. He was also one of the internal candidates who applied to take over after Been retired. The mayor rejected him, opting instead to look outside the department. Now Wells is retiring. Mayor Taylor says she wanted to reach out before he left for good to see if he would be interested in the job.

"But he explained to me that he did not believe the police chief worked for the mayor. And that would be the end of that conversation, because I believe the police chief does work for the mayor and is part of the entire team in the city," said Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

Taylor wants the next police chief to be a political appointment to her management team, not a civil service position. The chief would serve at the mayor's pleasure and could be replaced at any time.

Wells says he won't be a political puppet. The 32-year-veteran of the force says accepting a political appointment would have destroyed his credibility with officers, and he believes a politically appointed chief could lead to corruption within the department. Mayor Taylor says she consulted other cities where the police chief is part of the mayor's cabinet, and she says the system works well in cities like Seattle, Atlanta and Washington D.C.

"In fact, I've had many candidates say to me that the only way they would like to be appointed is if they can work as part of the leadership team with the mayor," Taylor said.

Mayor Taylor says a police chief on her staff would promote teamwork from the top down. She says she is narrowing the list of candidates and hopes to find a chief who will agree to her terms by November.

We called and paged Deputy Chief Wells, but he did not get back to us before deadline.

Watch the video: Candidate Turns Down Job As Tulsa's Top Cop

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