The Village of Scotia has interviewed six candidates for the position of police chief.
There were a total of 15 applicants for the position that Thomas Rush is voluntarily leaving to return to his previous rank as a sergeant. Rush’s decision came after he failed the required civil service test for a second time, which he could take one more time before being forced to step down. The search committee narrowed the applicants to six candidates and held interviews for the potentials on Thursday, July 7.
There were several local applicants, according to Mayor Kris Kastberg, but there were also applicants coming from all over the country, including Texas, California and Florida. Part of the committee’s narrowing down process focused on selecting state residents. The committee is looking at past police experience and how it would translate into the more administrative aspect of being chief during interviews.
I wasn’t surprised, because we have put ads like that before and got a number of applicants from outside the area and outside the state, said Kastberg. `The requirements to be a police officer in New York State are a lot more stringent than in other states.`
One hurdle from someone coming out of state would be they’d have to learn the New York State Penal Code, which is just one of the benefits for picking someone from the state.
If there isn’t a candidate that stands out to the committee during the interviews, the village could start to dig a little deeper into the pile of applications sent in.
`We will go through the six candidates, and if a candidate emerges as a preferred candidate, then that person would go to an interview in front of the [Village Board of Trustees].`
Even if someone does stand out to the committee, it won’t be an immediate appointment, said Kastberg. There are various procedures, such as a background check and notifying their current employer, which would be done before an official selection.“