Thursday, March 27, 2025
The Gatesville Police Department is getting closer to finding its new Chief of Police following former Police Chief Brad Hunt’s transition to Gatesville City Manager.
A total of 17 applicants applied for the position of Gatesville’s Police Chief, Hunt said. On Oct. 9, a review panel that consists of local elected officials and city staff helped narrow down the candidates to eight semi-finalists.
This week, the panel is deciding on the top finalists for the role.
“I am working with my panels and staff to ensure we bring in a new chief who will continue on the positive path I began,” Hunt said. “All of our semi-finalist candidates are well-qualified for the position, and the final selection poses one of those ‘good problems to have’: it will be a difficult choice between several great finalists.”
Hunt shares what the city and police department are looking for in a police chief. He said they are seeking a candidate who is community-focused, an innovative leader, and can foster a culture of integrity and trust.
“The ideal candidate will possess a broad background and experience in typical municipal police functions, as well as experience in the planning and development of capital projects, including facilities,” Hunt said. “He or she will be flexible, self-reliant, and courteous while solving complex problems and maintaining positive relations with the public, community stakeholders, and fellow law enforcement agencies.”
After undergoing several recent changes in leadership, Interim Police Chief Georgiana Cleverley said that recruiting more dispatchers and officers will be a top priority for the new police chief.
“Maybe the new chief has a different way that we haven't tried yet of getting applicants,” Cleverley said. “We're really short in dispatchers right now. We're short in officers, too, but we're really short in dispatchers. That's going to be something that the new chief will have to face right up at the beginning.”
Another major initiative the new police chief will face is the building of a new department facility. Although the architect was chosen at a recent Gatesville City Council public meeting, the city will wait to finalize the plans for the new space until the new chief begins his role at the department, Cleverley explains.
“The architect has been chosen, and they're starting to work on designs, but that's something that the new chief is going to be very heavily involved in, rightfully so,” Cleverley said. “I'm hoping that they will, of course, let the lieutenants and the sergeants have our say in that also.”
The new police chief will also lead the agency in receiving accreditation under the Texas Police Chief’s Association Best Practices Accreditation Program. The program is a process where police agencies in Texas prove their compliance with 170 Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices.
“As an unintended consequence of my appointment as city manager, the police department has gone through several changes in leadership over the past two years,” Hunt said. “The newly appointed chief will have my full support in working with the police department staff to promote positive change and continue developing a team-building environment.”
Although Cleverley currently serves as interim police chief, she said she decided not to apply for the position permanently, even though colleagues and other community members encouraged her to pursue the role.
“I was looking at my accomplishments in the military, getting my resume ready, and I came across a listing from a prior brigade commander of mine,” Cleverley said. “He had put out leadership guidelines when he had taken over the brigade, and he passed them out to the senior leaders, and I still had a copy of it. Two of the things that he had listed as his guidelines said something along the lines of, ‘be careful what you ask for – you might get it.’”
“I don't really want this job. What if I get picked?” she adds. “And then a little bit further down it said, ‘you can't make other people's choices, so don't let them make yours.’”
Cleverley notes that there would also be another vacancy in the department if she permanently became police chief. However, her main reason for not applying is that she enjoys her role as patrol commander, a position she will return to once the new chief is hired.
“The primary thing was I really didn't want the job,” Cleverley said. “I'll be more than happy to assist whoever is selected and point them along the lines of this is what we've been doing, this is what's worked effectively in the past, and whatever direction that chief wants to go in, I'll be more than happy to help them move in that way.”
To Cleverley’s knowledge, none of the finalists for the role are from the Gatesville Police Department but instead from outside agencies.
The city will hold a community meet and greet with the selected finalists on Nov. 7, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers. On Nov. 8, the finalists will individually meet with the police department staff and then sit for an interview with a panel of local and regional officials.
Following the interviews and reviewing the materials for each finalist, Hunt said he will make the final selection by the end of the day on Nov. 8.
Hunt will present the chosen candidate to the city council at a future public meeting. As of press time, the date has not yet been determined, but it will take place on either Nov. 12 or Nov. 14.
“I’m just eager to learn who the new chief is going to be,” Cleverley said. “Eager to meet this new chief and to get the ball rolling and get things accomplished. I'm ready to move on.”
