Interviews For New Windsor Locks Police Chief Begin Next Week

The Windsor Locks Police Commission is preparing to do final interviews in the hiring of a new police chief.

Commission Chairman Neal Cunningham said at Wednesday’s commission meeting that there were 70 applicants from around the country for the position. The cutoff date for applications was December 16.

Cunningham said the initial screening winnowed the field to 12 candidates. Those candidates will be interviewed by the search committee on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

The committee will choose the final three candidates which will be interviewed by the police commission on January 20. The commission will then decide about hiring a new chief after those interviews, he said.

John Suchocki, retired as chief in August. The commission is conducting the search in the wake of the controversial handling of a fatal accident in which an off-duty police officer allegedly struck and killed 15-year-old Henry Dang with his car.

A few days after Suchocki’s retirement, an independent investigation report of police department actions following an accident was released. The report is critical of the actions of  Suchocki after the accident.

The report says that in Suchocki’s efforts to keep the investigation “clean” he mistakenly ceded his own control to the North Central Municipal Accident Reconstruction Team. That action violated Windsor Locks’ own policies.

In looking for a new chief, the commission advertised it was seeking for candidates with at least 10 years of supervisory experience in a municipal, state or public institutional police department with a rank of sergeant or above.

The chief must have the following skills: demonstrated leadership abilities; budgetary preparation and execution; ability to work independently under the general supervision of the police commission; and the ability to effectively communicate with members of the public, press and appropriate state and municipal authorities.

The salary range for the position is $90,000 to $110,000.