Three WSU Police Chief Finalists to Visit Campus

PULLMAN, Wash. — Three finalists for the position of Washington State University Chief of Police have been invited for visits to the Pullman campus.

The finalists are Joel F. Fitzgerald, a Philadelphia police lieutenant and 15-year veteran of that force currently assigned as a commander in the department’s Narcotics Field Unit; Scott Shelton, a 30-year law enforcement veteran who has served as both a captain and interim chief of police at the University of Missouri – Columbia and is now chief of police at the University of Missouri – Kansas City; and Chris Zimmerman, a 30-year law enforcement veteran in Weber County, Utah with the Ogden Police Department, as chief of police in Roy, Utah, and as chief deputy with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.

Visits and interviews are slated for each candidate; all faculty and staff are invited to attend the open sessions.  Open sessions will be announced through WSU Announcements as soon as schedules are finalized.

Fitzgerald is scheduled to visit campus Aug. 9-10.  He has supervisory experience within several areas in the nation’s fifth largest police force, including emergency/crisis management, community policing, narcotics and gun violence investigations, operational planning for large events, and organizational development.  He is a graduate of numerous state and federal law enforcement and executive training programs and holds a master of business administration degree from Eastern University and a bachelor of arts in liberal arts/sociology from Villanova University.

Shelton will visit July 31-Aug. 1.  He has been employed in law enforcement positions with the University of Missouri system in positions ranging from patrol officer to police chief.  He holds a master of public administration degree from the University of Missouri and a bachelor of arts in sociology from Columbia College.  He is also a graduate of a wide range of federal and state law enforcement and executive level training programs.

Zimmerman will visit Aug. 6-7.  He holds a bachelor of science in police science from Weber State University and is an adjunct faculty member there in the criminal justice department.  He is a graduate of a wide range of state and federal law enforcement and executive training programs, is a Utah Police Officer Standards and Training Certified Instructor and is a former president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association.