{"id":69092,"date":"2025-12-03T03:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T03:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/69092\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T03:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T03:58:08","slug":"residents-question-finalists-as-fort-pierce-narrows-search-for-next-top-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/69092\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents question finalists as Fort Pierce narrows search for next top cop"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 The search for Fort Pierce\u2019s next chief of police is nearing its conclusion. Tuesday evening, city officials introduced the three finalists<\/a> vying for the position during a public meet-and-greet at the River Walk Center, giving residents their first chance to question the candidates directly.<\/p>\n

The event comes months after former Chief Diane Hobley-Burney resigned<\/a> in May, following a department survey that revealed deep frustration among officers over low pay, poor morale, and lack of support\u2014issues that have contributed to high turnover.<\/p>\n

See Also: Florida bids farewell to Sgt. Terri Sweeting-Mashkow in heartfelt memorial service<\/a><\/p>\n

Residents packed the River Walk Center to meet the contenders and voice concerns about transparency, long-term commitment, and plans to address systemic challenges within the department.<\/p>\n

The finalists include:<\/p>\n

Vernon L. Hale III<\/p>\n

Vernon L. Hale III, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and former chief of the Galveston Police Department in Texas, emphasized fiscal responsibility. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty stingy with my budget,\u201d Hale said, noting his focus on distinguishing between needs and wants. 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.<\/p>\n

David Smith <\/p>\n

David Smith, a 24-year veteran of the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia, highlighted his experience tackling similar challenges as the Fort Pierce Police Department. \u201cThe agency I work for faced significant issues very similar to what Fort Pierce is experiencing,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen great success in the things I\u2019ve implemented there.\u201d <\/p>\n

Smith currently commands Eastern District Operations and has advanced degrees in executive leadership and criminal justice education, and previously oversaw the department\u2019s Personnel Bureau.<\/p>\n

Mirtha Ramos <\/p>\n

Mirtha Ramos brings 28 years of experience and previously led the DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia. <\/p>\n

During Tuesday’s meet and greet, she assured residents of her long-term commitment. \u201cI\u2019m not looking for a stepping stone,\u201d Ramos said. \u201cI\u2019m looking for a place to end my career, retire here, and set my life here.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

With all three candidates coming from out of state, some residents expressed concern about whether the next chief will stay long enough to make meaningful changes. Some city leaders acknowledged concern with the process leading up to the determination of the three candidates, but say stability and transparency are top priorities for the future of the department. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re looking for is somebody who will bring transparency to the department, solve issues with recruitment and retention, and work closely with city commissioners,\u201d said Commissioner Michael Broderick.<\/p>\n

For many residents, the event was about more than r\u00e9sum\u00e9s. \u201cIt gives them a firsthand opportunity to look in the person\u2019s eye, ask questions, and understand their vision for the future,\u201d said Kim Johnson, a Fort Pierce resident.<\/p>\n

The city manager is expected to make a final recommendation for chief of police on December 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 search for Fort Pierce\u2019s next chief of police is nearing its conclusion.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-69092","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\/69092","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=69092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}