116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids narrows down police chief search to four candidates
Public invited to meet the candidates at an event next week
Jan. 30, 2024 6:28 pm, Updated: Jan. 30, 2024 6:45 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS — The search for a new Cedar Rapids police chief is almost over, nearly 10 months after the previous chief, Wayne Jerman, aged out of the position and retired.
The Cedar Rapids Civil Service Commission met Tuesday to discuss the applicants for the position and narrow the pool to four people: Jennifer Birkhofer, Jeff Coday, Tom Whitten and David Dostal.
Birkhofer is currently a lieutenant for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department in Douglas County, Nebraska. Coday is a captain in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Whitten is a chief deputy for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department in El Paso, Texas. Dostal is an internal applicant and is currently a captain with the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
The list of approved candidates will be sent to City Manager Jeff Pomeranz, who will review their applications to determine which candidates should move on to the in-person interview stage and be invited to a community meet and greet event next week. He could invite all four candidates.
The event will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cedar Rapids DoubleTree by Hilton Convention Center, 350 First Ave. NE. It will be an open house format, where community members will have the opportunity to meet individually with each candidate, according to a news release about the event.
The in-person interviews will be conducted on Feb. 7 by five panels made up of various city and community leaders. After the interviews and the meet and greet, Pomeranz will identify two final candidates. He may visit the candidates’ current departments and communities to observe their dynamics and engagement. The final step will be Pomeranz’s appointment of a chief, with the advice and consent of the mayor and council.
In-person interview panels
City Manager Panel: City Manger Jeff Pomeranz and Assistant City Manager Angie Charipar
Executive Team Panel: City Attorney Vanessa Chavez, Building Services Director Kevin Ciabatti, Finance Director Ahbi Deshpande, Assistant to the City Manager Amanda Grieder, Public Works Director Bob Hammond, Utilities Director Roy Hesemann, Interim Police Chief Tom Jonker, Development Services Director Bill Micheel, Communications Manager Phillip Platz, Community Development Director Jennifer Pratt, City Clerk Alissa Van Sloten, Fire Chief Greg Smith, Information Technology Director Shawn Smith, Human Resources Director Rachelle Stewart, and Parks and Recreation Director Hashim Taylor
Selection Committee: Newbo Community Engagement Manager Anthony Betters Jr., Foundation 2 Crisis Services COO Erin Byers, Citizen Review Board Member Arthur Kim, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks and Northwest Neighbors Neighborhood Association President Al Pierson
Police Department Focus Group: Officers Mike Bailey, Sarah Lacina, Cory McGarvey, Matt Messer, Nick Nolte and Tyler Richardson
Community Group: Commercial Realtor Craig Byers, Wellington Heights Community Church Pastor Keeyon Carter, Downtown business owner and downtown SSMID Jon Dusek, Linn County Public Health Director Pramod Dwivedi, Cedar Rapids Community School District Superintendent Tawana Grover, CR Pride President Corey Jacobsen, Waypoint CEO Jeye Kennedy, Business owner and downtown SSMID James Klien, Intercultural Center of Iowa representative Rama Muzo, League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa - Cedar Rapids Council President Monica Vallejo, Citizen Review Board Member Harold Walehwa and College Community School District Superintendent Doug Wheeler
Information about the background of each candidate who will be interviewed and invited to the event will be released by the city after Pomeranz has reviewed the list.
The four candidates were narrowed down from 17 total applicants, about half as many as applied to the position when Jerman was hired in 2012.
The city has worked with consultants from the International Association of Chiefs of Police throughout the hiring process, which included a community outreach stage to determine what community members want in a new chief, a marketing and recruitment stage, and several stages of screening and evaluation of the candidates.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters