FORT PIERCE \u2014 More than a hundred residents filled the River Walk Center Tuesday evening for a two-hour Meet & Greet with the three finalists seeking to become Fort Pierce\u2019s next Chief of Police.<\/p>\n
The event, hosted by the City of Fort Pierce, offered residents their first opportunity to hear directly from David M. Smith, Mirtha V. Ramos, and Vernon L. Hale III, each hoping to lead a department navigating growth, staffing challenges, and shifting community expectations.<\/p>\n
The finalists, all from outside Florida, shared their professional backgrounds and answered questions on leadership, crime trends, and their vision for Fort Pierce. For many attendees, the evening confirmed both the strengths and complexities of choosing a chief from outside the region.<\/p>\n
David Smith, an Army veteran and commander with the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia, emphasized community trust and visible policing. \u201cPerception of police presence in the City is resident safety,\u201d Smith told the audience, explaining his focus on data-driven deployment and neighborhood-based policing. Several residents said his structured, analytical approach stood out.<\/p>\n
Mirtha Ramos, who began her career with Miami-Dade Police and later served as Chief of Police in Dekalb County, Georgia, spoke about change management and adapting to population growth. \u201cThis City must embrace growth rather than resent it,\u201d she told attendees. \u201cFort Pierce doesn\u2019t have a choice. Growth is already here.\u201d Her comments resonated with some residents who believe Fort Pierce needs a chief experienced in high-density jurisdictions.<\/p>\n
Vernon Hale III, former chief in Galveston, Texas, and assistant chief in Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland, focused on culture and accountability. \u201cMy goal is to produce above-average officers,\u201d he said. \u201cMore money does not fix problems.\u201d Hale stressed leadership development and clear expectations as central to his philosophy.<\/p>\n
While many residents praised the candidates\u2019 credentials, others raised concerns about the absence of local finalists. \u201cWith outsiders, it\u2019s always a gamble,\u201d one resident said. \u201cThe risk is they use Fort Pierce as a stepping stone to a bigger agency or as a place to retire. The question is how much gas they have left in the tank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another longtime resident echoed that sentiment: \u201cTwo of these finalists already applied to major agencies like Phoenix and Fort Worth. That\u2019s a red flag. Why choose Fort Pierce next?\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the room was far from one-sided. Several attendees welcomed the idea of an external hire. \u201cFresh eyes can make different decisions,\u201d one resident said. \u201cThis department may benefit from someone not tied to the local politics.\u201d<\/p>\n
The City Commission will interview all finalists later this week before City Manager Richard Chess makes his final recommendation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE \u2014 More than a hundred residents filled the River Walk Center Tuesday evening for a two-hour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172,563],"class_list":{"0":"post-69748","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","11":"tag-st_lucie"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69748","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=69748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}