City Names Police Chief Finalists, Invites Public to Meet & Greet

The City of Fort Collins has narrowed its nation-wide search for a new Police Chief to five candidates.

The City engaged in an extensive recruiting effort to identify potential candidates for the City’s Chief of Police position. KRW Associates, a public sector executive search firm out of Colorado Springs, posted the Chief position in December and the City received 66 applications.

KRW associates, krw-associates.com, describes itself as a “Public Sector Executive Search and Organizational Consulting Firm.” Managing partners include four former police Chiefs from Colorado Springs, Arvada and Aurora and Jerry Garner, current Chief of Police in Greeley. Also serving is a former Arapahoe County Sheriff.

After thorough review, the pool has been narrowed to the following top five finalists

• Major Edward Bergin, Anne Arundel County, MD
• Deputy Chief Michael Bray, Sacramento, CA
• Deputy Chief Ashley Gonzalez, Norwalk, CT
• Chief Jeffrey Swoboda, Elgin, IL
• Terri Wilfong, Law Enforcement Consultant, Lexington, KY

“We feel we have found a list of very qualified candidates for this important community position,” said City Manager Darin Atteberry. “In our ongoing effort to be an open and transparent organization we invite the community to participate in this process and meet the candidates in person.”

At the end of February, candidates will be in Fort Collins interviewing for the position and residents are invited to participate in the process.

There will be a public reception meet and greet at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 1 at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St. Residents are invited to speak with these candidates and provide their insights and feedback.

The search for a new Chief follows the resignation of former Police Chief John Hutto on May 12, 2017. Retired Aurora Police Chief Terry Jones is currently serving as the Interim Chief.