Cedar Rapids will welcome four candidates for police chief interviews next week

CEDAR RAPIDS — Four applicants out of 17 will be moving on to the interview stage of consideration to become the new Cedar Rapids police chief, and the public is invited to meet them next week.

The four candidates — Jennifer Birkhofer, Jeff Coday, Tom Whitten and David Dostal — were selected by the Cedar Rapids Civil Service Commission Tuesday and all four were approved by City Manager Jeff Pomeranz. Profiles of each candidate, which they submitted to the city, were released Wednesday.

Each of the candidates will be interviewed on Feb. 7 by five panels of city and community leaders. A public meet-and-greet with the candidates will be held that evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cedar Rapids DoubleTree by Hilton Convention Center, 350 First Ave. NE.

After the interviews and the meet and greet, Pomeranz will identify two final candidates and he may visit the candidates’ current departments and communities. The final step will be Pomeranz’s appointment of a chief, with the advice and consent of the mayor and council.

Jennifer Birkhofer

Birkhofer, an Iowa native, is a deputy sheriff at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Omaha, Nebraska.

She started her law enforcement career in 2004 as a corrections officer in Pottawattamie County and has worked in Douglas County since 2005. She has served in various roles at the Douglas sheriff’s office, including road patrol, court services and administrative services. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a Master’s degree in public administration and she is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

In her administrative role in Omaha, Birhofer overhauled the recruitment processes in the department to “focus on recruiting and cultivating a diverse workforce reflective of the community,” according to her profile.

“Jennifer’s overall career has embodied a commitment to ensuring professional law enforcement services to the community while enhancing organizational effectiveness and fostering inclusivity within the law enforcement profession,” her profile reads.

Jeff Coday

Coday has spent 23 of his 27 years in law enforcement at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He has served in several roles, including leading Northwest Area Command, bureau commander of Internal Affairs and he currently leads the department’s Traffic Bureau.

He has also worked as a field training officer, property crimes investigator, narcotics investigator, field training sergeant, advanced officer skills training sergeant and special investigations section lieutenant.

Before joining the Las Vegas department, Coday worked for the Springfield, Missouri Police Department.

Coday has a bachelor’s degree in biology, a Master’s degree in crisis and emergency management, and he is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and the FBI National Academy.

“Captain Coday is committed to keeping the community safe and building trust and improving community relations through transparency and community engagement,” his candidate profile reads.

Tom Whitten

Whitten has previously worked as a chief of police in three police departments — Harlingen, Texas; Carlsbad, New Mexico; and Dewitt, Iowa — and is currently the chief deputy for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Texas.

Before becoming a police chief, Whitten served in the U.S. Air Force and worked at the El Paso, Texas Police Department. He retired in 2009.

Whitten has achieved national accreditation for his current department and for the DeWitt Police Department. He has two Master’s degrees in criminal justice administration and public administration, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration. He also has a Master Peace Officer certification from Texas and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

“Chief Whitten is committed to the concepts of 21st century policing and procedural justice. He also understands the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion and has ensured his departments mirror the communities they serve,” Whitten’s profile states.

David Dostal

Dostal is the only Cedar Rapids Police Department applicant to advance to this stage of the hiring process. He was born in Cedar Rapids and graduated from LaSalle High School in 1986. He started working in the Cedar Rapids Police Department in 1991, after graduating from Cornell College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Dostal is a captain in the Administrative Operations Division of the police department where he works with the joint communications agency, the records division, animal care and control, buildings and grounds, and training, including working with the Cedar Rapids Regional Academy.

He has worked in several other roles, including the special response team, field training officer, bicycle patrol officer/instructor, patrol shift supervisor and patrol shift commander.

Dostal is a former member of the Xavier High School Board of Education and an active member in the St. Ludmila Catholic Parish. He and his wife, Melissa, have been married for 30 years. Their son, Nolan, is an officer in the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

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