The city of Lewiston, Minnesota is trying to find a suitable candidate to fill the position of police chief, and has only found one semi-suitable person for the job so far. A second applicant left the race before the interview process even began. So now, the only viable candidate is former Hackensack, Minn., Police Chief Joe Hastings. Lewiston city officials interviewed Hastings last week and are waiting for more information.
Lewiston is a very small town about 2.5 hours southeast of Minneapolis, and has been looking around since March 2010. However, it seems that despite plenty of perceived options, every candidate so far was either fired from another town for unorderly conduct, or has some kind of criminal record, however slight. Background checks conducted on the candidates have turned something up on every single one so far.
The mayor, Dave Sommer, said the city is waiting for information to come back on Hastings, but declined further comment. He hung up the phone when asked if the city ordered a background check for Hastings. No doubt they are conducting a rather extensive investigation, as the past few months have shown them that most potentials are little better than the crooks they are supposed to protect the community from.
Just a little background on Hastings. Hackensack city officials disbanded the police department and fired Hastings in 2009. Hackensack City Clerk Jodie Knapp said the decision was budgetary, but that a string of serious complaints against Hastings began about a year before his departure. Knapp declined to offer details, but news reports from a Hackensack-area newspaper say residents there complained of police harassment.
The Lewiston city council fired police chief Dave Kleinschmidt after learning he had a misdemeanor on his record in March of this year. Current city leaders were unclear on whether Kleinschmidt completed a background check before he was hired.
The city had to begin a new search in August when its top candidate, Michael Cherney, failed a background check. Records show Cherney was fired in 1991 from the Collier County Sheriff’s Department in Florida for poor behavior after seven years of service. Two other finalists withdrew last month – one just days after being fired from the Pequot Lakes, Minn., police department.
I had no idea finding someone to fill the position of police chief could be so difficult. I assumed there was of course a vetting process whereby each applicant was interviewed and checked to ensure they had the necessary qualifications. However it seems that many police officers are more prone to misjudgments of character than other people. I mean, if you have 8 individuals apply for a job and none of them are suitable because of various indiscretions, we have a fairly serious problem.
Plus, they are just like everyone else in terms of trying to get away from the past problems. I have written in the past about how criminals tend to move around a lot and because of the decentralized nature of criminal records in the United States, there is a good chance they won’t be caught for a while. However, there is more than one way to find if someone is crooked.
Because addresses and phone numbers are updated frequently, the online background check providers with access to more resources will be able to provide current and past information about where someone has lived. You then simply grab a state criminal records search for the states they have lived in to check on their past. Plus, they will never know you looked. You can start with the background check services I recommend, or use a different one. Just make sure you carry out your own vetting process on the service you use. There are many that will take your money while delivering absolutely nothing in return.
