Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous is one of three finalists for chief of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department in Savannah, Georgia.
Savannah City Manager Stephanie Cutter announced today that Evangelous, William Heim of Reading, Pennsylvania, and Joseph Lumpkin of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, were selected as finalists on Wednesday.
“These three outstanding candidates were selected following a search that included advertisements in more than a dozen national trade publications and websites,” Cutter stated in a press release. “We received a total of 114 applications from 29 states.”
The finalists are expected to travel to Savannah within the next three weeks, when they will meet with county and city managers, as well as representatives from city bureau chiefs and county leadership, faith-based leadership, civic leaders and neighborhood association presidents.
“These three finalists are each highly qualified, bringing experience as the heads of progressive police departments in diverse communities,” Cutter said.
Evangelous has served a chief of the Wilmington Police Department since 2004.
In his resume submitted to Savannah officials in April, Evangelous said he recommended 180 changes during his tenure as chief. He said the department was “in turmoil with major morale and management issues” when he took over.
“Racial tensions greatly decreased throughout the community,” Evangelous said of his time as chief, adding he completed “a total reorganization of the department.”
Before being named chief in Wilmington, Evangelous served as chief of police in Temple, Texas, for nine years. His previous law enforcement experience includes agencies in Gardner, Massachusetts, Oceanside, California, Athol, Massachusetts, Southborough, Massachusetts, and Los Angeles.
Check back for more on this developing story.
