Wauwatosa chief finalists take questions from public

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Three finalists for Wauwatosa's top cop job answered questions from the public for the first time Monday, June 14.

The questions focused on data, community policing, and accountability. They were sent in by the public and screened by the city's human resources department. Then one after the other, each candidate answered the same questions during a video conference call.

The finalists answered what's the biggest reform a police department needs to undertake.

"How do we as managers actually keep ahead of what's going  on with use of force," answered David Salazar, police chief finalist.

"Rehumanizing police, and that means having the public see us as people," answered James MacGillis, police chief finalist.

"We as a department need to be to ready to adjust and look for best practices," answered Jeffrey Norman, police chief finalist.

The three candidates answered questions about how they'd use data and boost morale.

One question came from an armed robbery victim. They asked what they'd do to be proactive about crime and how they would respond to an increase in robberies.

"Work with the crime analysts to ensure that there's some type of descriptions, any particular type of behaviors," said Norman.

"We need to message out that we are engaging in crime reduction strategies so communities are aware we are going to be out there," said MacGillis.

"One-hundred-sixteen percent tells me from my crime analysis background is that you have probably several groups committing crimes in a particular geographic area," said Salazar.

The city sent out a survey to gather more feedback from the public. The survey closes Wednesday, June 16.

The Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission expects to conduct final interviews next week.