The executive search firm tasked with finding the Haines Borough’s next police chief this week submitted its list of 10 semi-finalists, which includes Brayton Long, the Haines officer who accidentally shot himself in the wrist in January.

Richard Fursman, of the headhunting firm Brimeyer Fursman, submitted the report to the Public Safety Commission this week. The search yielded 27 applications. Of those, Fursman personally interviewed 16 and selected 10 as semi-finalists.

Long was hired by the Haines Police department in November. Prior to that, he worked for five years as an officer in Skagway.

In his analysis, Fursman wrote of Long: “Brayton is well known to Haines as a current officer. He had a bumpy start to his career in law enforcement in California and left the profession. He has experienced several other jobs until coming back full-circle as a police officer in Skagway before coming to Haines. He has a good head on his shoulders and his heart is in a good place.”

One other applicant has Alaska experience: William “Dave” McKillikan, who has served as Hoonah’s chief of police since 2014. He also worked in Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks and Fort Yukon in law enforcement capacities.

Other applicants include: Gerald “Ed” Casey (Department of Veteran Affairs chief of police in Los Angeles 2012-2014 and in Puget Sound 2002-2014); Heath Scott (deputy chief of Protective Services Police in Washington, D.C., since 2008); Louis Sager (nationwide work as federal air marshal, supervisory air marshal and assistant special agent for the Department of Homeland Security since 2002); Michael Braly (professional standards supervisor for the Irving, Texas, police department since 2008); Christian Carelli (police dispatcher, officer then sergeant at the University of Michigan since 1998); Timothy O’Neill (police officer, investigator then sergeant in La Crosse, Wis., since 2005); Christian Pedoty (police lieutenant for the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority 1990-2011 and chief in Hinsdale, Mass., 2011-2012); and Wayne Woods (internal affairs investigator and detective in Lovejoy, Ga., since 2011).

The information Fursman collected is extensive, as are his analyses. For each candidate, Fursman included a summary, a narrative about the person’s professional/managerial style, strengths and development needed. He also included a breakdown of experience areas with matrices rating the candidate’s budgeting experience, human resources experience and other core competencies.

Each candidate was also given a writing assignment and asked to describe why he wanted to work in Haines, what issues a rural community might face from a policing perspective and other questions.

The firm cast the net for applicants by direct recruiting calls and email contacts to potential candidates, as well as recruitment letters sent to over 140 individuals who were either identified as potentially interested professionals or who had requested information about the position.

The Public Safety Commission will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, to review the semi-finalist applications with the consultants. The commission consists of chair Jim Stanford, Kay Clements, Judy Erekson, Judy Ewald and Bob Duis.

Clerk Julie Cozzi clarified that the borough assembly is not involved in the hiring process until the very end, when interim manager Brad Ryan will bring a hire recommendation to them for confirmation.

“It’s the Public Safety Commission that is involved in the review and interviewing process. The Public Safety Commission will ultimately make a recommendation to the manager,” Cozzi said.

Brimeyer Fursman desired to keep the names of the 10 finalists confidential, but borough officials decided to release the names due to a section of code that states police chief applications will be available for public inspection.

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