Mike Gambrell(Photo: Provided)
The choice for Greenville's next police chief has come down to several home-grown leaders, a man who took over an embattled North Carolina force, an assistant chief in Arizona outspoken about illegal immigration and a chief deputy in urban Georgia.
City of Greenville officials announced Monday afternoon that six men had made the final cut from 87 applications received. Three now work for the Greenville Police Department: Interim Chief Mike Gambrell, Capt. Mike Harmon and Capt. Gerald Hunt.
Also named were Brian Harris of the DeKalb County Police Department; Police Chief Kenneth Miller of the Greensboro (N.C.) Police Department; and Chief Deputy Steven Henry of Pinal County Sheriff's Department in Arizona.
One of them will replace Terri Wilfong, who retired April 15 after seven years as chief.
Gambrell, Harmon and Hunt issued a joint statement through Police Department spokesman Johnathan Bragg Monday after the announcement.
"We are honored to be considered as finalists for the chief of police position and feel that there are six qualified candidates. At this point, we would like to let the process continue as it is and not get into individual interviews on different philosophies."
Gambrell, 51, worked closely with Wilfong as division commander of support, and most recently as the major over the operations division, which includes SWAT, crisis negotiations, dignitary protection and emergency management. He served as the police department spokesman for about seven years. Gambrell recently completed a master's degree in criminal justice from the American Military University. He is also a graduate of Charleston Southern University.
Mike Harmon(Photo: Provided)
Harmon, 52, was hired by the city about three years after Gambrell and serves as commander of the department's Operations Division, which includes K-9, SWAT and crisis negotiation. He served in the Marines and has master's and bachelor's degrees from Southern Wesleyan.
Gerald Hunt(Photo: Provided)
Hunt, 46, has worked for the department for 23 years and ommands the support division, which includes criminal investigations, communications and vice and narcotics. He has a bachelor's from Lander University and a master's from Anderson University.
Kenneth Miller(Photo: Provided)
Miller, 50, announced last week he would retire from the Greensboro Police Department between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 after four years as chief. He spent more than two decades with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, eventually rising to deputy chief. He also worked as a deputy in Greeneville, N.C., and served in the U.S. Air Force.
Speculation about Miller's future with the city arose last October when he posted his resume on LinkedIn and indicated he was available to start a new job in March, when he was eligible to retire. He reached an agreement with the city shortly after that in which he was given a $27,000-a-year raise to stay.
That made his salary $175,000. It was to make up for a separation allowance he would have qualified for had he retired. Wilfong made $119,800 when she retired. Gambrell makes $100,796 as interim chief.
Miller said in a phone interview Monday afternoon that he wants to leave Greensboro because of the way the North Carolina pension system operates.
"It's fair to say that each day I work in Greensboro is a deficit to me," he said.
Miller inherited a police force that had been rocked by lawsuits alleging discrimination within the ranks by 40 black and Latino officers. The lawsuits were settled last year. Also, he said the police department's dealings with the community had been unsatisfactory. He has been credited with stabilizing the department as well as improving crime prevention, particularly through neighborhood policing.
Miller said he's interested in Greenville because, although it's smaller than Greensboro it has a vibrant mix of nightlife, residential and business. He said Greensboro has sent people to Greenville to see the possibilities of downtown revitalization.
Greensboro population was 279,639 in 2013 and Greenville's population was 61,397, according to Census Bureau estimates.
Miller and his wife, Kris, a teacher, have two sons, 8 and 11.
"Wherever I go, it's important to me that it's a city where I want to raise my children," he said.
Brian Harris(Photo: Provided)
Harris, 50, has worked in DeKalb, which includes the eastern part of Atlanta, for 21 years, and he is a brigadier general in the Army National Guard. He has a master's degree from American University and the U.S. Army War College. He could not be reached for comment. DeKalb's estimated population in 2013 was 713,340.
Steven Henry(Photo: Provided)
Henry, 53, has worked in Pinal County in south-central Arizona for five years. He spent 15 years with the Chandler Police Department in Arizona in neighboring Maricopa County before that. He has a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and a master's degree from Northern Arizona University. Pinal County had an estimated 389,350 people in 2013.
He has led a very different law enforcement life than the candidates on the East Coast, including a national television appearance about illegal immigration, speaking about death threats from drug cartels received by his boss, and wildfires in salt cedar trees.
On Fox News earlier this year, Henry called the Obama administration's work on illegal immigration a travesty. He criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for setting people free who were in the country illegally after they had been charged with crimes.
"We call it, 'in through the out door,' " he told Fox News, noting that his department had recently caught a man smuggling pot who had been deported 14 times.
"What else is coming across the border," he said.
Henry also has been outspoken about death threats his boss Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has received from members of the Mexican mafia and drug cartel members.
The city of Greenville launched an all-out effort to find out what residents and leaders want in the next chief. A survey was posted online and city officials talked with police officers, neighborhood association presidents as well as representatives of the Youth Commission, other public safety agencies and the Solicitor's Office.
The finalists will be interviewed July 21-25 and a new chief appointed by the end of July.
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