The City of Arlington has named five finalists in its search for a new police chief in a search that began June 1 and drew applications from 74 public safety professionals from across the country.
The five finalists for the Arlington police chief are Col. Alexander Jones of Baltimore County Police Department; Assistant Chief Jaime Ayala of the Arlington Police Department; Cmdr. Jason Lando of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police; Assistant Chief Kevin Kolbye of the Arlington Police Department; and Deputy Chief Tarrick McGuire of the Arlington Police Department.
The city narrowed the pool of candidates to 24 in mid-August, conducted another round of interviews and analysis, and invited 10 candidates to participate in the semi-final round in late September.
Deputy Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia of the Buffalo Police Department withdrew, leaving nine candidates to participate in the semi-final round of interviews.
Every candidate had the opportunity to engage in face-to-face interviews with a wide range of panelists that brought diverse perspectives and experiences, the city said in a news release. The series of panel interviews included two community panels, a regional police chief panel, an internal police employee panel, and a city executive panel.
The final round is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29. Finalists will complete another round of internal interviews and participate in an evening community forum. The community forum will allow the candidates to respond to questions submitted by members of the community.
The Oct. 29 community forum will be held at Esports Stadium Arlington & Expo Center from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The event will also be broadcasted on AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, Spectrum Channel 16, 15.1 and online
at https://arlingtontx.gov/city_hall/departments/broadcast.
Questions can be submitted prior to the event via this web form: https://arlingtontx.gov/askthepolicechief
Questions may be submitted starting at 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, and ending at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The community will also be able to submit questions during the event via question cards or this web form https://arlingtontx.gov/askthepolicechief
The City of Arlington said that in accordance with state and local regulations, members of the public are required to wear a face covering while attending this event. Also, all individuals entering the event room will be required to complete and clear a temperature screening.
The finalists:
Ayala has been serving the Arlington community for 31 years in the Arlington Police Department. In 2014, Ayala reached the rank of assistant chief of the Support Operations Bureau, which oversees four policing divisions including the Central Investigations Division, Community Support Division, Technical Services Division and the Operations Support Division. Ayala has a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the University of Texas at Arlington and a master’s degree in communication studies from Texas Christian University.
Jones has 25 years of service with the Baltimore County Police Department, currently holding the rank of colonel. As the colonel of the Community Relations Bureau, Jones oversees the Community Resource and Wellness Section, the Youth and Community Service Section, and the Employment Section. Jones has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Hartford and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Ashworth College.
Kolbye has 37 years of combined experience in the Dallas Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Arlington Police Department. He joined Arlington in 2015 at the rank of assistant chief responsible for a range of divisions including Intelligence and Criminal Investigations, SWAT, Crime Scene, Homeland Security-Special Events and Training and Recruiting. Kolbye has a bachelor’s degree in business administration-accounting from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in criminal justice and strategic studies from Tarleton State University.
Lando has 21 years of experience with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, where he currently serves at the rank of commander. Throughout his career, Lando served in a variety of capacities including patrol, undercover narcotics, SWAT, a crisis negotiator, and a Procedural Justice trainer. Lando has a bachelor’s degree in emergency medicine from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in legal studies from California University of Pennsylvania.
McGuire has served 17 years in the Arlington Police Department and currently serves in the rank of deputy chief. He served as a Law Enforcement Fellow with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) contributing to public safety research and reform on 21st Century Policing in Washington D.C. McGuire has a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree in Christian leadership from Criswell College.