A National Search Necessary

San Diego City Manager John Lockwood faces a tough task in choosing a police chief to replace Bill Kolender, who retired Friday.

He has to find someone who can restore the Police Department’s reputation, especially within the minority community, and someone who can work with a stronger civilian review board, if one is approved by the voters in November.

Lockwood has said in the past that he thinks it is important to fill the job from within the department. All other things being equal, that’s true.

But, without a nationwide search, it is impossible to know if all other things are equal.

There are several strong, in-house contenders for the job, all top administrators under Kolender. That is both a plus and a minus for them. Kolender was a popular chief, and the department they helped him run has been generally well-respected. But the ticket-fixing scandal, the Sagon Penn case and several questionable shootings have recently tarnished the department’s reputation and Kolender’s assistants can’t escape some of the responsibility.

But, even without those problems, a national search makes good sense. Not only might the search produce additional qualified contenders for the job, but just the process of interviewing the candidates can provide an infusion of fresh ideas. That would benefit San Diego and the new chief.