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PARKERSBURG -- After receiving more than 40 applications, a search committee has narrowed down to three the list of candidates to be Parkersburg's next police chief.
"Those folks will be interviewed by me in the coming weeks," Mayor Tom Joyce said recently.
Five of the applicants were interviewed by the committee, Joyce said. Three were selected for further evaluation, he said.
Joyce and City Attorney Blaine Myers declined to release the names of the five candidates interviewed, citing the personnel exemption under West Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.
A second FOIA request regarding the makeup of the committee was initially declined, citing a portion of the code that "exempts written memoranda or letters received or prepared by any public body" and case law recognizing privilege for "a public body's deliberate decision-making process." Some materials could be made available after the appointment is made by the mayor and confirmed by Parkersburg City Council, Myers said in the response.
Interim Chief Scott Elliott has been overseeing the department since the late December retirement of Joe Martin, the city's longest-serving police chief.
Elliott, who has been with the department 28 years, was planning to retire in April before Martin announced his retirement. He has previously said he did not plan to apply for the job going forward.