The City of San Jose has announced the final four candidates for San Jose Police Chief.
The search for a new San Jose Police Chief has faced many challenges throughout the recruitment process. Two initial finalists withdrew from the application process, leaving five candidates in the running, and all but one coming from inside the San Jose Police Department. The City extended the process to better diversify its candidate pool, ultimately adding two external finalists.
The candidates were interviewed by over 50 community members during the Police Chief Candidate Forum on February 17 and 18.
In a statement to the City released on Monday, said the following of the Police Chief Candidate Forum and community panel interviews.
“We heard from many panelists that they looking for a Chief of Police that understands the needs of the community as it relates to advancing a racial equity framework, and who has the transformative leadership capability to ensure that current policies and procedures see continued change,” said City Manager Dave Sykes in a statement released Monday.
“We also heard that the Chief of Police needs to have a broad depth of experiences with the types of incidents that happen in our City and be someone who can deliver innovative responses to our most crucial challenges,” he added.
Of the four finalists, three are from the San Jose Police Department: Deputy Chief Anthony Mata, Deputy Chief Heather Randol and Interim Chief of Police David Tindall. The fourth candidate is Retired Assistant Chief Larry Scirotto from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The finalists will be interviewed by members of the City’s senior and executive staff team for the next step of the recruitment process. After these interviews, Skyes will select the final candidate to bring forward for confirmation by the City Council. The confirmation is expected to occur in mid-to-late March.
Meet the finalists:
Anthony Mata – Deputy Chief of Police, San Jose, CA
Deputy Chief Mata serves as the San Jose Police Department’s Executive Officer and has 30 years of police experience. He has been a Deputy Chief for over four years and is bilingual in Spanish and English.
Heather Randol – Deputy Chief of Police, San Jose, CA
Deputy Chief Randol has 23 years of experience with the San Jose Police Department. She currently leads the Bureau of Field Operations.
David Tindall – Acting Chief of Police, San Jose, CA
Acting Chief Tindall has 26 years of experience with the San Jose Police Department. For the past six months, Tindall has served as the Acting Assistant Chief of Police and was recently named Acting Chief of Police.
Larry Scirotto – Retired Assistant Chief, Pittsburgh, PA
Retired Assistant Chief Larry Scirotto served with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for 23 years. He was one of three assistant chiefs and the youngest assistant chief in the history of the department. Assistant Chief Scirotto is a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff & Command and is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.