St. Paul hosting public forums for police chief search

St. Paul residents will have a chance to meet the finalists to be the city's next police chief this week.

The first of a pair of public forums will be held at Concordia University Wednesday evening, as the city weighs who should lead the state's second largest police department.

Wednesday's forum is at Concordia University's E.M. Pearson Theater, at 312 Hamline Ave., just south of Interstate 94. The second is set for Thursday at Progressive Baptist Church at 1505 Burns Ave. in the city's Battle Creek neighborhood. Both forums will have a panel of candidates with questions and answers. They start at 6:30 p.m. and are scheduled to run until 8:30 p.m.

The selection process has been moving forward in fits and starts since last November, when current chief Tom Smith announced he planned to retire.

Political Coverage Powered by You

Your gift today creates a more connected Minnesota. MPR News is your trusted resource for election coverage, reporting and breaking news. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Smith was appointed in 2010 and has already retired. Department veteran Kathy Wuorinen has been named interim chief.

The city has since appointed a 32-person selection committee to vet applicants for the process. They've gone through two rounds of applicants, after an initial round fell short of the 5-finalist requirement in city ordinance.

There are five candidates now: Four internal, one from Minneapolis police.

Assistant chief Todd Axtell is one. He's currently head of operations in the department, which includes the patrol division. He's been with the department for 26 years and is the highest ranking internal candidate. Axtell is a regular presence on the street at protests, events and the like. He's widely considered to be the leading candidate.

There are two women commanders from St. Paul on the list. One is Colleen Luna, who runs the property crimes unit and has been a St. Paul officer for 32 years. She's a former internal affairs and homicide unit commander and has been a finalist twice before, in 2004 and 2010. And Tina McNamara heads the homicide and robbery unit. She's a former gang and juvenile unit commander and has been with the department since 1993.

The fourth internal candidate is Matt Toupal, who is an interim assistant chief. He runs the major crimes division, which includes investigative functions. He's a former East District senior commander and a 26-year veteran of the department.

The fifth candidate is Eddie Frizell, a veteran lieutanant in the domestic assault unit and former deputy chief in Minneapolis who ran against Sheriff Rich Stanek in 2014. He's also a Minnesota National Guard colonel.

This week's forums are the last public part of the process. Mayor Chris Coleman's staff say he hasn't set a deadline to submit his final choice to the City Council for approval, but they expect a decision in the next month or so.

St. Paul police chiefs serve 6-year terms.