Frey releases names of community members on police chief search committee

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday released the names of the 11 community members who will make up the city’s police chief search committee.

The group will work with Public Sector Search & Consulting — a California-based consulting firm that deals exclusively in recruiting law enforcement executives nationwide — to find a permanent replacement for former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo.

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Arradondo announced in December he was leaving the department after 32 years, and Frey named then-Deputy Chief of Professional Standards Amelia Huffman as his interim replacement.

The committee includes a mix of current City Council members and community leaders in business, faith and civil rights.

“We are drawing from deep talent and a broad range of experience – but most importantly, this committee reflects our city’s values,” Frey said in a statement. “We need to get this hire right, and this committee will bring an honest and intentional approach to making sure we do.”

The search committee comprises the following members:

• Andrea Jenkins, Minneapolis City Council president
• LaTrisha Vetaw, Minneapolis City council member and chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee
• Chanda Smith Baker, chief impact officer and senior vice president of the Minneapolis Foundation
• Karin Birkeland, retired partner of Faegre Drinker law firm
• Tim Carter, CFO of investment bank Piper Sandler Companies
• Lisa Clemons, founder and director of community outreach organization A Mother’s Love Initiative
• Susana De León, immigration attorney and owner of De León, Nestor & Torres law firm
• Michael A. Goze, CEO of the American Indian Community Development Corporation
• Greg Hestness, board chair of the Minnesota Crisis Intervention Team
• Bishop Richard Howell Jr., pastor of Shiloh Temple International Ministries
• Sara Jones, executive director of Great North Innocence Project, an advocacy group that fights wrongful convictions

“Serving on this search committee may be one of the most consequential actions of my career on the city council” said Jenkins wrote in a statement. “I look forward to joining community leaders and stakeholders dedicated to making Minneapolis a safer city for all. Our residents, our police force, and all who come to Minneapolis, deserve a police chief who will lead with integrity, vision, and compassion. I am committed to ensuring that becomes our reality.”

The search committee’s input will help in the formation of a “position profile” to guide the recruitment process. PSSC will forward finalists to Mayor Frey for interviews, and he will select the next chief pending City Council approval and a background check by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The whole process is expected to be wrapped up sometime this summer, Frey’s office said.