IRVINE : Council to Talk to Police Chief Finalists

The City Council today will interview three finalists chosen earlier by a city and community panel as top candidates to replace departing Police Chief Leo E. Peart.

A nationwide search for the city’s second police chief attracted 76 applicants, 10 of whom were interviewed by the panel.

The three top candidates come from both inside and outside California, City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. said Wednesday. Names of the top candidates will not be released to protect their privacy, he said.

Brady said he will choose the new chief sometime next week. As city manager, Brady has final say on hiring, but the council has always had an opportunity to interview and offer their views on applicants for top posts, he said.

“They are so key that I want the council to feel comfortable with my selection,” he said.

Once he chooses the best candidate of the three, Brady said, he will conduct a background check and talk to the applicant’s current employer and officials in his or her city before offering the job. If that process goes smoothly, he said, the new chief might be hired as soon as the end of next week. The new chief probably would start in mid-November.

Peart announced early this year that he will leave the city on Jan. 15, his 50th birthday, to move to Northern California and pursue a career in police consulting. Irvine hired Peart in 1974 to found what was then called the Irvine Community Police Deparment. Before that, the new city had a contract with the Costa Mesa Police Department for law enforcement.