Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero said she will 'immediately begin' the process of selecting a police chief after Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Chief David Rausch as the next director of TBI.
Rausch will become Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director effective Monday, June 25, 2018.
“Chief Rausch has been an exemplary police chief and community leader in Knoxville. Congratulations to him on this well-deserved appointment! I am grateful for his decades of service to our city," Mayor Rogero said in a statement. "I will immediately begin the process of selecting his successor."
Rogero said she will meet individually with each of the four Deputy Chiefs to hear their insights Tuesday morning.
"As a first step, I will meet individually with each of the four Deputy Chiefs to hear their insights on the department, what the priorities of the next police chief should be, and whether they are interested in being considered for the position," Rogero said.
Those four deputy chiefs are Cindy Gass, Gary Holliday, Eve Thomas and Kenny Miller.
"Typically deputy chiefs are the ones who have served for a number of years in the department, they have excelled, they have advanced training, advanced degrees and so they should be considered first I think," said Rogero.
She said she wants the new chief to be like Chief Rausch when it comes to departmental knowledge and community involvement.
"The chief needs to know what's happening on the ground, on the street, needs to be supportive of the police force, and needs to help each of those officers do the best they can and move up in their careers," said Rogero.
Former interim Mayor Dan Brown, who appointed Rausch to the chief position, said it took him a few months to make that decision when he was in office.
"It was a difficult choice when you have great candidates and you gotta pick one, it's hard to do," said Brown.
Rogero is hoping to move faster, and will not be appointing an interim police chief for the time being.
"I'm not gonna rush it but at the same time I'm not gonna drag my feet on it either," she said.