Finalists for Beaumont’s next police chief meet the community

BEAUMONT, Texas – Beaumont could welcome a new police chief by the end of this week.

A committee made up of community leaders held a private question-and-answer session with each of the four candidates vying to become Beaumont’s next top police officer.

One of them will replace longtime boss Jimmy Singletary, who is retiring.

Following the question and answer session, the finalists boarded a Beaumont Municipal Transit bus and took a city tour lasting several hours.

Wednesday evening it was time for a meet and greet with eager community members where the candidates shared their plans for Beaumont and the police department.

Many residents were present and numerous Beaumont Police officers were also present.

Residents learned firsthand why each candidate believed they were the best candidate to be Beaumont’s next police chief.

“I think I have a good understanding of what our community expects from our police,” said finalist Jason Plunkett, currently deputy chief of the Beaumont Police Department.

Plunkett says he wants to use his more than 30 years of experience to address the statewide police shortage and hire new officers in the city.

“We’re going to lose a lot of leaders in the next few years,” Plunket said. “Many will retire. We need to start developing our young officers as leaders.”

Kyra Joy Hope, currently second assistant chief of the Detroit Police Department, says her experience will enable her to strengthen the relationship between police and the public.

“This is what I do every day,” Hope said. “I’m out there with activists, our community leaders, our block club members to bring people to the table who don’t want to sit at the table with us, to bridge the gap between the community and the police,” she explained.

Britta Steinbrenner, former director of public safety at Pepperdine University after serving with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 35 years, said she saw the Beaumont job as an opportunity to come out of retirement.

“I love working as a police officer and now I had the opportunity to get back into the field,” she said.

Their goal is to reduce the crime rate in Beaumont by 10%.

“If officers are visible and in the community, I would really like to have one or two satellite offices where citizens can go and make a report,” Steinbrenner said. “It also shortens response times.”

Troy Price, deputy police chief of Vancouver, Washington, also wants to reduce crime in the city, as he says his police department has already done in Vancouver.

“As law enforcement, we fail when we don’t understand the needs and desires of the public,” Price said. “I got a really good report today on some crime numbers. I want to bring a lot of those ideas here.”

The exciting race for the new police chief is only a few days away from the end.

A second round of interviews will take place Thursday with City Manager Kenneth Williams, Assistant City Managers Chris Boone and June Ellis, and City Attorney Sharae Bassett Reed.

On Friday, City Manager Kenneth Williams will present his hiring recommendations to the Beaumont City Council.

The City Council plans to hold its final vote on Friday afternoon.

This is a developing story. We will update you with more information as we receive more confirmed information.

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