.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........The city of Albuquerque last week whittled its list of finalists for chief of police to three, including interim chief Harold Medina. The other contenders to emerge from an initial field of 39 applicants are Clinton Nichols, chief of police in Commerce City, Colorado, and Joseph Sullivan, a retired deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department. Harold Medina Their backgrounds are very different, and all bring certain qualifications that make them attractive. Medina is a longtime veteran of the Albuquerque Police Department. He knows the ropes. Nichols was a commander in Las Vegas, Nev., and in Commerce City with a force of about 140 employees he developed a five-year strategic plan in anticipation of reform efforts – important given APD’s struggles with complying with the ongoing reform process here overseen by a monitor and federal judge. Sullivan spent 38 years in Philadelphia where he retired last year as deputy commissioner of patrol operations, a post where he oversaw 4,698 sworn officers and was lauded for his outreach to the LGBTQ community.