FORT PIERCE – Contentiousness from multiple fronts appeared to disappear Monday as the Fort Pierce City Commission voted 4-0 to confirm naming David M. Smith, Eastern District police commander of Prince William County, Virginia as the city’s next chief of police.
City commission members each lauded Smith following private interviews last week with the Army veteran and 24-year law enforcement officer.
Two unions representing Fort Pierce officers and supervisory personnel issued statements supporting the pick by City Manager Richard Chess who is charged by city charter with naming the city’s top cop with the endorsement of the commission.
And there was minimal public comment at Monday’s morning session, a stark contrast to recent local clamoring for the city to promote a local candidate to succeed Diane Hobley-Burney who resigned under pressure in May after department employees issued a statement of “no confidence” in her leadership after 10 years here.
District 2 Commissioner Michael Broderick, who a week ago advocated delaying the hiring decision until after a fifth member joins the commission in February, sai d he found Smith “very qualified,” saying Smith’s enthusiasm “was infectious” when he had his private sit-downs with the final three candidates last week.
District 1 Commissioner Arnold Gaines confided that Smith had not been his first choice.
“After my interview, he was…He knows the concerns about internal promotions and he told me he would personally look into the situation because, as a chief, when you leave a department, if you don’t have anybody ready to step in, that’s a reflection on your leadership and your time as chief.”
Producing an annual police department report and developing action plans based on local crime data were Smith proposals that impressed District 1 Commissioner Curtis Johnson Jr. And while Fort Pierce is not a large urban area, Johnson said Smith’s experience in the suburban Washington, D.C. area could aid policing here “with outside forces coming into our city and participating in things we don’t like.”
Mayor Linda Hudson said Smith’s background in police human resource management means he “knows how to build a team and manage the human component of the job.”
According to Hudson, Smith was “very, very high on our police department” and was the only candidate who had reviewed a recent outside consulting report that made recommendations for department improvements.
An email to commissioners from Troy Carter, representing the police supervisors’ union, said that while officers had endorsed Caleb Gillette, interim deputy chief, for the job, “the union is in alignment and in agreement” with hiring Smith.
Chess said his decision to tap Smith was influenced by Smith’s “fresh approach” to community policing” and that he feels like a “good fit” for the department and with him.
The chief pick has a bachelor’s degree in management, a master’s in executive leadership and a graduate certificate in criminal justice education.
Smith was an Army sergeant in the 82nd Airborne from 1997-2001, and was in the Iowa Army National Guard.
Officials said contract negotiations with Smith now will begin and they expect to have an agreement ready for a commission vote Dec. 15.
Hudson praised Interim Chief Robert Ridle for leading the department following Hobley-Burney’s resignation.
“I am profoundly grateful that through all this turmoil, our police department stayed professional.”