FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The City of Fort Pierce announced on Friday three finalists in its nationwide search for a new chief of police, a process launched after months of internal conflict, a scathing consultant\u2019s report, and the resignation of longtime Chief Diane Hobley-Burney.<\/p>\n
The finalists are:<\/p>\n
Vernon L. Hale III, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and former chief of the Galveston Police Department in Texas. Hale holds a master\u2019s degree in criminal justice from the University of North Texas and is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Phoenix. He previously served as assistant chief in Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland.Mirtha V. Ramos, who brings 28 years of experience and previously led the DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia. Ramos earned a master\u2019s degree in psychology of leadership from Penn State and a bachelor\u2019s in criminal justice from Lynn University. She also served as a division chief with Miami-Dade Police.David M. Smith, a 24-year veteran of the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia, where he currently commands Eastern District Operations. Smith has advanced degrees in executive leadership and criminal justice education and previously oversaw the department\u2019s Personnel Bureau.<\/p>\n
The announcement follows a turbulent year for the Fort Pierce Police Department. Hobley-Burney resigned in May<\/a> after nearly a decade as chief, citing \u201cundermined trust\u201d and \u201cdivision within the department\u201d that made it \u201cchallenging to lead.\u201d Her departure came one day before a special city commission meeting and after a union-led survey and a consultant\u2019s report revealed deep morale issues, staffing shortages, and pay disputes.<\/p>\n See also: Convicted human trafficker sneaks back into U.S. and pleads guilty: DOJ<\/a><\/p>\n The Center for Public Safety Management review, presented in May<\/a>, found the department\u2019s staffing levels were 22% below recommended standards, described the agency as a \u201ctraining ground\u201d where officers gain experience only to leave for other agencies, and flagged outdated policies and leadership concerns. At least two captains resigned earlier this year, and commissioners openly debated whether a \u201cchange in direction\u201d \u2014 including leadership replacement \u2014 was necessary. <\/p>\n The turmoil also included public allegations of a \u201chostile work environment<\/a>\u201d under Hobley-Burney, with former employees citing bullying, intimidation, and transparency issues. Officers complained of excessive overtime and lack of equipment, while union negotiations over pay dragged on for months, prompting discussions about outsourcing police services to the St. Lucie County Sheriff\u2019s Office \u2014 an idea city leaders later rejected.<\/p>\n Residents will have an opportunity to meet the finalists during a public reception on Dec. 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the River Walk Center, 600 N. Indian River Drive. Interviews with the mayor and city commissioners are scheduled for Dec. 3, and the city manager is expected to present a final recommendation on Dec. 8.<\/p>\n Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Sign up for our newsletter <\/a>to get the day’s top headlines delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel <\/a>for the biggest stories and can’t miss video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The City of Fort Pierce announced on Friday three finalists in its nationwide…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-63709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}