Candidates culled to 3

CITY HALL — A final announcement on Burbank’s interim police chief is expected next week after a panel interviewed the candidates Thursday and narrowed the pool of candidates from six to three, officials said.

The 10-member panel, composed of the mayor and representatives from the police union, command staff, Police Commission, Human Relations Council and other officials then presented its recommendations to City Manager Mike Flad.

Names of the applicants are being closely guarded because a release could jeopardize their current employment status, officials said.

Flad would only offer that they all have “significant Southern California command experience.”

Members of the panel, who entered into confidentiality agreements for the interviews, characterized the applicants as seasoned professionals up to the task of reforming a department facing its share of internal and external strife.

“The panel confirmed that the applicant pool was very strong,” Flad said. “My hope is to have a selection by the end of next week.”

Officials have operated throughout the process with two competing values: speed and due diligence, Flad said.

Officials plan to complete the process within days to find a suitable replacement to outgoing Burbank Police Chief Tim Stehr, who last month announced plans to retire by year’s end as the city contends with several external probes into police misconduct.

Flad characterized the appointment, tentatively scheduled for six months, as one with long-lasting and critical implications.

But the lack of public input alarmed some experts, especially considering the independent probes into the department by the FBI, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a city-hired investigator. Five lawsuits against the city have been filed by eight current and former officers.

FBI officials in September confirmed they are investigating allegations of excessive use of force by officers, and the lawsuits deal with racial discrimination, retaliation, unlawful demotions and firings.

And when one of the officers names in the FBI probe shot and killed himself on a public sidewalk, Glendale Police were asked to investigate the suicide.