Nearly three dozen law enforcement officers from around the region have applied to be Powell’s next chief of police.

“There is a quite extensive list,” City Administrator Zack Thorington reported at Monday’s council meeting, saying the city has “a big pool” to choose from.

The city started accepting applications in early January and originally set an early February deadline. However, as that date approached, only 12 people had applied, which was fewer than city consultant KRW Associates wanted to see. At KRW’s recommendation, the city extended the search until the end of last month and the few extra weeks “did help out immensely,” Thorington said. A total of 32 candidates applied. 

KRW has already sorted each of the contenders into different tiers, and “there’s probably 15 to 20 that are ranked pretty high,” he said.

It’s now up to the city to pick eight to 10 candidates for KRW to vet in more depth; Thorington said he’d be sending the list to city council members for their input. 

Once the city winnows the field, the Colorado Springs, Colorado-based KRW will recommend four to six finalists. The city will then pick its favorite candidates, followed by more vetting from KRW and in-person interviews.

City leaders have been searching for a new leader for the police department since December, when then-Chief Roy Eckerdt retired after 12 years in the role. Lt. Matt McCaslin is serving as the acting chief while the search is underway. McCaslin said Wednesday that he did not apply for the position.