Interim Platte City police chief Lynda Hacker-Bristow is one of the seven finalists in the city’s search to fill that position.
The Platte County Sheriff’s Department employee has been in the interim role since November, a month after recently retired police chief Carl Mitchell announced he would retire after nine years on the job.
The city got a more than overwhelming response to the job opening and on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the board of aldermen approved the seven finalists recommended to them by city administrator DJ Gehrt and his staff.
The field includes two senior federal law enforcement officers, three with ties to the Kansas City (Mo.) Police Department and two police chiefs.
The finalists include Brian Conneely, Hacker-Bristow, Robert Kuehl, Ronald Militana, Bradford Stott, Gregory Volker and Joseph Wellington.
“The city received over 130 applications from law enforcement professionals in 11 states, as well as several federal agencies,” Platte City mayor Frank Offutt said. “The number and quality of the individuals who applied are a very positive comment about the Platte City Police Department and the Platte City community as a whole. Many of the applicants would be competitive for nearly any police command and leadership position, the fact they chose to seek our position shows that the department and the community enjoy a strong reputation among law enforcement professionals.”
A lot of the finalists have ties to KCPD, either currently employed or formerly employed.
Hacker-Bristow spent 28 years as a detective and analyst with the KCPD before moving over to the Platte County Sheriff’s Department two years ago. She has also been a trainer/instructor for the KCPD Police Academy and several academies, such as the one at MCC-Maple Woods.
Kuehl is currently the deputy chief at KCPD and has 32 years in law enforcement and oversees all aspects of the KCPD Police Academy. He also is the owner/founder of Heartland Risk Management, which provides risk management consulting services to long-term nursing care providers. He is a graduate of Monmouth and Graceland.
Wellington is currently the chief of police in Gower, Mo., and has spent more than 40 years in law enforcement, including 14 in the Clinton County town. He also spent 25 year with the KCPD. Wellington is a MCC-Longview graduate.
Volker is currently a major in the KCPD, assigned as the East Patrol division commander, overseeing 148 officers and 15 civilian employees. He has spent 27 years in law enforcement with KCPD and is an adjust professor at Park University, where he graduated from with a master’s degree. He earned a sociology/criminal justice degree from the University of Missouri.
Stott is a sergeant at KCPD and has spent 24 years with the department.
Militana works for the Department of Homeland Security and is based in Baton Rogue, La. He has 25 years of law enforcement experience with the DHS, U.S. Customs, U.S. Border Patrol and in departments in North Carolina. A former Marine, Militana is a graduate of Excelsior University.
Conneely is currently deployed at an international posting while working for the U.S. Department of Justice. He is the assistant regional director for Middle Eastern operations. He has 31 years of law enforcement experience with the DOJ and Drug Enforcement Administration. He is a graduate of Manhattan College.
A series of interviews with elected officials, city staff and officers will follow. The goal is to have a new chief hired by the Tueday, Feb. 28 board of aldermen meeting.
“The common denominator is that each has the ability to be an outstanding chief of police and each have strongly expressed their interest in being part of the Platte City community,” Gehrt said. “This very diverse applicant group truly allows the mayor and the board to select the chief who is the best fit for moving the department into the future.”