City identifies two finalists vying to be the Austin Police Department's next chief

The city has identified two finalists in the search for Austin's next full-time chief of police, a spokesperson for the Austin city manager confirmed Tuesday.

The city named Lisa Davis, an assistant chief for the Cincinnati Police Department, and Jeffrey Norman, the chief of the Milwaukee Police Department, as the two finalists.

According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, Davis is a U.S. Navy veteran who joined the department in 1992 and then rose through the ranks. She was a finalist to be the Cincinnati Police Department's chief in 2022 and a finalist to be Toledo's police chief last year, the Enquirer reported.

Norman is also a veteran of his city's department, having joined the Milwaukee Police Department in 1996. He has been the department's chief since November 2021 and served as an interim chief for nearly a year prior, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Norman was recently pushed into the national spotlight ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee as fears rose over safety concerns after the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump last weekend.

In total, 32 people applied to be Austin's next permanent police chief. The Police Department has been without a permanent chief since Joe Chacon retired last September. Interim Chief Robin Henderson has been working in the role since then and said she would not apply for the permanent job.

Recently appointed City Manager T.C. Broadnax will offer his recommendation for a finalist, who will then have to be approved by the Austin City Council.

“The search for a permanent Chief of Police was at the top of my priority list when I came on as Austin City Manager in May,” Broadnax said in a press release sent Tuesday. “I am confident we have identified the best candidates that will enable us to select an exemplary, experienced leader to guide the dedicated men and women of the Austin Police Department while continuing to collaborate and build trust with the community.”

Broadnax intends to present his candidate for the job at the July 30 City Council meeting, according to the release.

Both candidates will be in Austin for a community meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. July 23 in the Palmer Event Center, 900 Barton Springs Road.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson previously said on the City Council Message Board that the finalists would also meet with the council members.

The city is asking that members of the public submit questions they have for the candidates either online at speakupaustin.org/e6382 or by phone at 512-974-2000 before the end of the day Friday. People can also submit questions in person prior to the event starting.

Next week's meet-and-greet will feature opening remarks and a discussion moderated by longtime Austin news anchor Judy Maggio, and there will also be time slotted for members of the public to interact with the candidates.

The city hired Mosaic Public Partners to conduct a national search for its next police chief at a cost of $59,000, according to Michele Gonzalez, a spokesperson for the city manager's office. On the application, Mosaic said the competitive candidates should have "direct experience as a police chief in a large, urban city with issues that are similarly complex to those in Austin."

Neither of the two finalists come from a city comparable in population to Austin, with Cincinnati's population hovering around 311,000 and Milwaukee's at about 561,000, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. Austin's population was at nearly 980,000.

Whoever is selected to be the Austin Police Department's next chief will inherit a department that has struggled to fill positions as it continually sees the number of officers retiring or quitting outpacing that of new recruits joining the ranks.

As of last week, there were almost 340 vacancies in the Police Department. The department is budgeted to employ more than 1,800 sworn officers.

Of the two finalists, Norman has experience working with a department of a more similar size, as the Milwaukee Police Department employs nearly 1,600 sworn officers, according to The Badger Project, a nonprofit news organization in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Police Department has also seen its number of officers drop over the past few years and struggled with recruitment, according to the news site.

The Cincinnati Police Department employs about 1,000 sworn officers, according to the city's website. The Cincinnati Police Department has also struggled with recruiting efforts and staffing over the past few years, according to the Enquirer.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.

Statesman City Hall reporter Ella McCarthy contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Two finalists for Austin's next police chief identified