OKC Councilwoman Suggests Public Forum For Police Chief Search

The city manager of Oklahoma City is searching for a new police chief, and one Oklahoma City councilwoman wants residents in the community to have their voices heard when it comes to leadership of department.  

Longtime Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty retired this past month leaving a vacancy.

At a recent council meeting, Councilwoman Nikki Nice brought up the idea of a public forum.

News 9 sat down with the councilwoman to talk about her suggestion.

Nice said people in her community have been asking about the process of choosing a new police chief.

She said she's encouraged residents to reach out to the city manager, but also said she's seen a public forum used in other cities.

Nice thinks this could be a way the community could have a conversation or even learn about potential candidates. 

"So, it's just an open conversation about best practices," said Nice. "It's worked in other cities and this is just an example of something that could be done in this process."

Nice said this is something the community would have to want but also stressed that any kind of open forum should be focused on finding the right person for the job.

"It's important to me that we are having a conversation about who the best candidate is," said Nice. "It doesn't matter what they look like. We want the best person to represent Oklahoma City in this chief position, and I think that's what everyone is focused on."

News 9 reached out to the city manager's office. City staff could not tell us many details but gave us statement saying:

"The relationship between the police department and the community is important to us. We are evaluating different methods to get public input on policing topics that are important to them, particularly regarding police-community relations."

In terms of a public forum similar to what the councilwoman alluded to being held in other cities, the staff didn't know if they could help facilitate that type of forum.