The finalists for Madison s police chief are Shon F. Barnes, Ramon S. Batista, Jr., Christopher A. Davis, and Larry R. Scirotto
MADISON, Wis. In a resolution Sunday night, two members of Madison’s Police Civilian Oversight Board demanded that the Police and Fire Commission postpone any decision on the city’s next chief.
In the resolution, PCOB members Ankita Bharadwaj and Ananda Deacon requests that the PCOB “discuss and decide on the individual we will recommend to PFC to hire as police chief, within a week of [Sunday night],” and recommends to the PFC that it release “full footage and transcript of the final round candidate interviews to the public.” The resolution also recommends that the PFC maintain “regular communication” with the PCOB and take the PCOB’s candidate recommendation with “full priority consideration.”
Ramon Batista, a former police chief from Arizona, rose to the top as a favored candidate for the permanent Madison police chief position among members of the public who spoke at Wednesdayâs Police and Fire Commission meeting.
But those who spoke also decried the process for selecting a new Madison Police Department leader as difficult to navigate, excluding the community members the new police chief will be serving.
The process did not include a way for community members to directly engage with the four police chief candidates, which also include Shon Barnes, Christopher Davis and Larry Scirotto. Earlier Wednesday, the PFC released pre-recorded interviews with each of the candidates answering questions that were informed using community input gathered earlier in the process.