ANN ARBOR, MI -- The concept of community took centerstage at a special session of the Ann Arbor City Council Tuesday, Aug. 15 where four police chief candidates were interviewed.

Former Ann Arbor police Chief Michael Cox stepped down from the position in July 2022, with Interim Chief Aimee Metzer temporarily taking on the role. The search for a new chief is led by Baker Tilly, an executive search firm.

Each interview, done separately, covered topics like mental health, transparency, accountability and implicit bias. The police department’s relationship with the community was an ongoing theme throughout all four interviews, with special emphasis on transparency and connection with all community members.

The interviews are presented here in the same order the candidates appeared before council. Find the full interviews on Ann Arbor’s YouTube page.

Latesha Watson, a candidate for Ann Arbor police chief, during an interview with Ann Arbor City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 15.Screenshot

Latesha Watson

Latesha Watson believes that a police department’s problems — and success — start well before anyone can see them. When something goes wrong, there have been missed warning signs, she said.

While accountability and transparency at all levels of an organization can help keep departments on track, it is also important to build relationships with the community before a misstep, not after, she said.

“When we ensure that we’re building sustainable relationships, not temporary relationships, within our community, we will receive the grace that’s necessary when something controversial happens,” Watson said during her interview with council.

For her, that means engaging with all members of the community, not just activists and leaders. She also highlighted the importance of interpersonal communication and de-escalation training to circumvent the need to use force.

“We can stop a lot of force being utilized just from what comes out of our mouth,” she said.

Watson is currently the director for the office of public safety accountability for the city of Sacramento, California. She served as the chief of police for Henderson, Nevada, from 2017 to 2019 and as the deputy chief of police for Arlington, Texas from 2002 to 2017.

Christopher Hassig, a candidate for Ann Arbor police chief, during an interview with Ann Arbor City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.Screenshot

Christopher Hassig

For Christopher Hassig, each call to the police is an opportunity to build a relationship with the community.

“The unfortunate truth is that most people do not call us or need us on their best days,” Hassig said. “So we need to go there and be compassionated. We need to be professional, and we need to give them what they need.”

Hassig also said he would pledge to release body camera footage within 30 days if an incident warranted it.

Although building trust with the community is an important aspect of police work, Hassig said, policing landscape has changed in recent years. He plans to rely on local crime statistics to make decisions about where to put officers, rather than just “saturating an area,” he said.

“We’re transitioning to an era where it’s community policing, enveloped in evidence-based practices,” he said, adding he would want to make that data available to the public. “…We have nothing to hide. We are a part of the community, and they should be aware of the work that we’re doing.

Hassig has served as the commander of police with the Houston Police Department since 2021.

Marcus Dudley, a candidate for Ann Arbor police chief, during an interview with Ann Arbor City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.Screenshot

Marcus Dudley

Providing opportunities for officers to grow and develop their empathy for community members is a key part of being a police chief, said Marcus Dudley in his interview with the council.

In a prior position, Dudley said, he conducted video interviews with a police officer and a man who had been stopped by police because they believed he was a homicide suspect. The videos were then used as part of an implicit bias training. Hearing both sides of the interaction was eye-opening to his officers, Dudley said.

“It was an opportunity for them to actually have a different perspective,” Dudley said. “It was an opportunity for empathetic growth.”

In times of crisis, Dudley said, he would prioritize releasing information over saving face, he said.

“You may be better off actually putting things out that some folks will cringe (at)…but to preserve that trust in our community, it becomes absolutely essential to do so,” Dudley said.

He also voiced concern about facial recognition technology.

“I think there’s bias in the way that those programs work and until those things are fixed,” Dudley said. “I’m not comfortable with use of that.”

Marcus Dudley has served as the chief of police for Abilene, Texas, since 2021, previously working in various police leadership roles in Aurora, Colorado.

Nathaniel Clark, a candidate for Ann Arbor police chief, during an interview with Ann Arbor City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.Screenshot

Nathaniel Clark

Listening and showing up are two ways police can build trust in a community, Nathaniel Clark said in his interview with council, saying that doing so is like putting a deposit in a “community bank.”

“In law enforcement, it’s not about if something’s going to happen. It’s only about when it’s going to happen,” Clark said. “If you haven’t made deposits, you can’t make withdrawals.”

As a chief, he personally has to be visible in schools, churches and other community organizations, he said.

Clark also highlighted the need for neighborhood policing, emphasizing going “one block at a time.”

“We have to have leadership in place that’s willing to be open minded, a good listener or strategic leader, one that leads by example and one that is open to change,” Clark said.

Transparency and trust go together, he said. Without both, he said, the community won’t support the police department.

“If we go out and do anything other than being transparent, we do a disservice to the department, we do a disservice to the community,” Clark said.

Clark previously served as the chief of police for Forest Park, Georgia, from 2019 and 2023 and for Fort Smith, Arkansas from 2017 to 2019.

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