Anchorage Daily News

A committee reviewing applicants to be Anchorage's top cop has narrowed the list to three finalists, two of them longtime Anchorage police brass and one a senior law enforcement officer in the Lower 48.

The finalists were pared from about 35 applicants and represent the fruit of a two-month nationwide search that began in August when former police chief Rob Heun, a 26-year veteran of the force, resigned to work on a family business.

Out of the roughly three dozen who applied, all but six were turned away based on their resumes, said the mayor's chief of staff, Larry Crawford. One off that list withdrew his application because he took another job, and the search committee, which consists of seven community members including two former Anchorage police chiefs, screened out the others by their responses to a written questionnaire, he said.

The finalists named Tuesday are:

• Stephen J. Smith, of Eagle River. Currently the acting chief of APD.

• Michael G. Denney, of Scottsdale, Ariz. Assistant chief of police for the Mesa Police Department.

• Mark T. Mew, of Eagle River. Director of security at the Anchorage School District.

Ron McGee, chairman of the search committee, said the committee's short list, reached at a meeting Monday, will be further tested in upcoming interviews with the candidates.

"We're looking for management skills, communication skills, someone who has a lot of experience dealing with a community very much like Anchorage," McGee said.

Anchorage Police Department Employees Association President Derek Hsieh said the union was not endorsing any candidate but that knowing about the candidates will allow union members to voice any concerns that arise.

"This is the longest time the police department's been without a chief," Hsieh said. "Deputy Chief Smith has been the acting chief and done fine, but because we're a paramilitary organization the employees, including the command staff, naturally look for the chief position, so it's a job that needs to be filled."

Smith previously worked as deputy chief of administration at APD. He has been an officer in Anchorage since 1986, with a brief departure from 2003 to 2006 to work as special assistant to the commissioner at the Department of Corrections. He has worked patrol, the SWAT team and trained recruits at the academy. He holds a masters in public administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Smith could not be reached for comment after the finalists were named Tuesday evening. In a recent interview, he said his priorities, if selected, would include working to make the department more proactive.

"What we'd like to do is up our percentage of proactivity, and we've been making moves towards that with the creation of our crime suppression division," Smith said. "The vision, if you will, for that division is to be more proactive -- to have the discretionary time to identify problems. ... Ultimately, it lowers your reactive workload."

There is one problem for Smith: His brother, patrol Sgt. Ted Smith, also works for APD. Under city law, one cannot supervise a direct relative, Crawford said.

"We know that's inconsistent with our ordinances," Crawford said. "If he can't solve the problem somehow, then we'll have to deal with it downstream, but the mayor right now is not inclined to change the ordinance."

Sullivan's choice for fire chief, Mark Hall, faced a similar issue. He has two nephews who are Anchorage firefighters. In Hall's case, the Assembly waived the restriction, but this situation is different because of the more direct family relationship, Crawford said.

Denney is currently the assistant chief of police and chief of staff at the Mesa Police Department, an outfit about double the size of APD, he said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. He has worked for corrections and public safety agencies in Arizona and was a deputy county attorney at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office from 1999 to 2007. He has worked at various levels of law enforcement since 1970 and holds a doctorate from Arizona State University.

Denney said he applied here because he felt Anchorage was a place he and his wife could spend the rest of their lives and that APD seems to be a department receptive to change and innovation. Anchorage is a smaller community than he's living in now and he felt he could come here and make a difference, he said.

"I believe you've got to come in and take a look around, see what's working, see why things are being done the way they are," Denney said. "You don't just come in and make changes for the sake of making changes. I've seen that happen and it can be very profitable at times, very beneficial, but it also can be tremendously destructive unless it's well thought out."

Mew works as head of security at the school district and has been in law enforcement since 1980. He joined APD in 1983 and worked patrol and as a theft and burglary detective. He was deputy chief of police from 1997 to 2000 and was the deputy chief of administration from 2001 to 2003. Mew graduated from the FBI's academy in 1994 and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon.

Mew said Tuesday night the job needed a qualified candidate and he felt he was up to the challenge.

"Someone needs to be chief of police, and the people that believe they can offer something, I think, need to step up, and I think some have," Mew said. "We're facing some difficult times right now. The city has some difficult financial decisions to make, and where we go on those decisions might affect where we can go on other fronts."

Crawford said the next step is for the search committee to interview the candidates and begin checking references. Sullivan will then interview the candidates before making his selection. That person will undergo a background check, psychological assessment, polygraph test and drug screening.

Crawford said Sullivan hopes to make his selection by December.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

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