St. Paul taps assistant to be interim police chief

Updated: 5:05 p.m. | Posted: 12:17 p.m.

St. Paul Assistant Police Chief Kathy Wuorinen will be the department's interim leader while the city looks for a permanent replacement for retiring Police Chief Tom Smith.

"I'm incredibly grateful that Assistant Chief Wuorinen will be taking the helm this spring," Mayor Chris Coleman said in a statement Thursday announcing the move. "Her history with the department and her strong leadership make her more than qualified to step into the interim role as we continue our search for a new police chief."

Wuorinen joined the department in 1988 and has worked her way up from police officer, sergeant and commander to her current position. Past assignments include the department's homicide, narcotics, vice and internal affairs units, according to her biography.

Smith, who's led the force since 2010, announced his retirement plans last year. He's expected to leave in May.

The city has been holding public engagement sessions over the past few months to help with the selection process of the next chief. City officials recently held a session aimed specifically to get youth input.

The selection process for a new chief is taking some time. At first, too few candidates applied, so the city had to re-post the job.

The city now has seven candidates in the pool, and more could apply by the deadline at midnight Friday.

Minimum qualifications include six years of command level and work in police departments of at least 500 sworn officers. St. Paul currently has 620 sworn police officers. The original timeline called for having someone in place by May. Officials expect the process to take at least until June.

Wuorinen says she's not in the running to lead the department permanently. She'll serve as chief for about two to three months.