PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA (WKZO AM/FM) – We don’t know exactly why the opening for a Police Chief in Punta Gorda, Florida is so attractive but we can guess.
Two West Michigan Chiefs, in Grand Rapids and the Public Safety Chief in Kalamazoo want the position.
David Rahinski and Jeff Hadley are among the ten finalists for the post, along with a number of other chiefs, sheriffs and the Deputy Chief of the City of Miami.
Maybe this is why its such a poppular opening: Punta Gorda’s population is well less than half that of Portage, the residents are mostly white, the median age is 66 and it’s on the water on the gulf side of the Florida peninsula.
It’s Mayberry with beachfront condos and palm trees and no snow, just hurricanes and alligators.
The community may not present the same challenges to Rahinski or Hadley, but it seems like a nice place to work or retire.
Tom Lewis, the previous Chief was fired because a retired Librarian who was participating in a training exercise was shot through the heart in front of her husband when one of his officers apparently loaded his hand gun with target practice ammo instead of blanks.
Lewis was tried for neglect and found not guilty but it wasn’t enough to save his job.
The ten finalists will be interviewed next month.
