Atlanta-Area Agency Facing Critical Officer Shortage. I want to have a chief of police who honors the fact that public records are public. Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman is in the running to become chief of police in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to Fort Lauderdale city officials. If I die on the hill for promoting diversity, as I was charged by the city manager to do from the day I was hired, then I will sleep well at night, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Updated Michael Ryan - Real Time Tactical Crime Analyst, Fort Lauderdale Police All rights reserved. Documents obtained from city officials by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel earlier this month show three internal candidates under consideration for police chief and five police officials from across Florida and the nation. As I see it, this is a fresh start for everybody, including the internal leadership team, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale Police Department at City of Fort Lauderdale The tactics used by a few officers to discredit the promotions of Black and minority officers with masters degrees, stellar reputations, and exemplary work history, are nothing short of appalling," Cecil Stone, the head of the Fort Lauderdale Black Police Association, previously wrote. Lagerbloom now has a new plan: appoint a new interim chief from outside the department who is not interested in the job. The department has about 530 officers and 179 civilian employees. Lagerbloom made his pick from a list of eight semi-finalists that included three internal candidates: Fort Lauderdale's Assistant Chief Frank Sousa, Maj. Dana Swisher and Capt. Minutes later Sheriff Mike Chitwood responded that he was OK and explained what happened. This past year, he was chosen to be one of the referees to officiate in the mens NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis. According to the job posting, the ideal candidate will be interpersonal and culturally sensitive; ethical and of high integrity; a supporter, coach and mentor; and a diplomatic, prudent and highly effective conflict manager. The promotions I made of minority candidates were because they were exceptional candidates who excelled at every level of the organization, who deserved to be promoted and who were, by the way, happened to be minority not because they were minority., Scirotto was sworn-in as police chief in mid-August last year. None of them were promoted because they were in a protected class, he said. Seven contenders are in line to lead Fort Lauderdales police department. The report said that Scirotto had responded that the context of his comment had been built around how do I convince the community that we are an inclusive and diverse organization if this wall is so white?. The other five are Dennis Jackson II, retired assistant chief for the Miami Police Department; Heather Morris, assistant chief for the Houston Police Department; Larry Scirotto, retired assistant chief for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police; and Kristen Ziman, chief of the Aurora (Ill.) Police Department. Lagerbloom,. He came from a department that shared the most information on data and statistics.. After a summer of searching, Key Biscayne's village manager has tapped Fort Lauderdale interim Assistant Police Chief Francis "Frank" Sousa to lead the . Unlike the shorter police academies, future officers serve as apprentices or cadets for a two-to-three-year program involving comprehensive learning through years of field experience and classroom instruction. Make no mistake weve had events occur in our police department in the last month, but I can tell you theres not been one event that has been the decision-making event, Lagerbloom said in July. And were talking in conversation as it relates to our community and the expectation of a diverse and inclusive organization. We want to really have a police department that is focused on 21st century modern policing, Lagerbloom said.