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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Candidates for city police chief will be interviewed a second time Wednesday as the search continues to replace retiring Chief Marcella Lendacky.</p><p>The follow-up interviews are for those who made the initial cut, said Wilkes-Barre city Administrator Ted Wampole.</p><p>&#8220;Some have been ruled out because they don&#8217;t meet qualifications,&#8221; Wampole said Tuesday. He declined to say how many candidates remained in contention for the job.</p><p>Wampole, a member of the committee that&#8217;s been interviewing candidates, said he was confident the panel would make recommendations to Mayor Tony George before Lendacky&#8217;s scheduled June 3 retirement.</p><p>&#8220;The plan is, obviously, to have the discussion with the mayor and he will make his choice,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>The committee &#8212; which also includes city Attorney Tim Henry, city councilman and former police chief Bill Barrett and retired Wilkes-Barre City Police Department Capt. Tom Merlie &#8212; was tasked with screening a field of candidates that includes aspirants from within the department and as far away as New Mexico.</p><p><strong>Names not released</strong></p><p>A total of 13 men applied, but one withdrew to pursue an opportunity close to home, Wampole said.</p><p>None of the names will be released to protect the identities of candidates not chosen for the post who will return to their jobs, Wampole said.</p><p>If the job posting had stated the candidates&#8217; names would be made public, interest in the opening likely would have been limited, Wampole added.</p><p>Lendacky gave her retirement notice in April as copies of a report critical of her management circulated among council members who had requested an independent review of a department increasingly at odds with its chief.</p><p>The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association concluded Lendacky and Commander Ron Foy lacked the professional qualifications for their senior-level posts.</p><p>The Harrisburg-based association&#8217;s report listed 30 recommendations to resolve departmental discord, but it did not call for Lendacky or Foy to step down.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Impressed&#8217;</strong></p><p>The city incorporated some of the recommendations in drafting qualifications for the chief&#8217;s job, requiring that candidates hold a bachelor&#8217;s degree in criminal justice administration or a related field or be a graduate of an advanced law enforcement training course such as the FBI National Academy. Neither Lendacky nor Foy had those qualifications.</p><p>Wampole said the candidates are aware of what&#8217;s happening within the department and city.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m impressed by the group that we have interviewed. They have done their research,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>The candidates also are aware the chief is appointed by the mayor and does not have a signed contract, Wampole said. The mayor has roughly a year-and-a-half left on his four-year term.</p><p>Wampole said he&#8217;s been asked by residents about the search for a new chief and has been transparent in providing details, just as he did with city council at its work session May 8, the deadline for job applications.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been out at residents&#8217; associations and crime watch groups where the question has come up and given detailed information on where we are,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wampole </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_Ted-Wampole-5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wampole </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL040518POLICE1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Wilkes-Barre City Police Department.  Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL040518POLICE1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>The Wilkes-Barre City Police Department.  Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Field narrowed for Wilkes-Barre police chief, follow-up interviews set