September 09, 2004
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A deputy chief from the Bristol, Tenn., police department was named Jacksonville's
new chief Wednesday.
Michael Yaniero, 45, who has worked in law enforcement for 21 years, was
introduced to city department heads Wednesday following a press conference
at Jacksonville City Hall. He starts his job heading a 125-person staff
on Oct. 11.
Yaniero, who supervised 67 officers at the Bristol Police Department,
was selected after an interviewing committee unanimously recommended him
to Jacksonville City Manager Ken Hagan. In all, six candidates interviewed
for the position, including deputy chief Sammy Phillips. Phillips, who
has worked with the department for 30 years, was one of the top three
candidates, Hagan said.
Yaniero's salary will be $82,500.
It's the second time in the past seven years that Jacksonville hired a
chief from outside the area. In 1997 when Ken Bumgarner was hired as chief,
Delma Collins, who was a Jacksonville police deputy chief at the time,
was also one of the finalists.
"I am very confident that we got the best candidate," Hagan
said. "I think the process worked the way I hoped it would. The panel
was pleased with the way it worked and with the way the questions went.
They very quickly came to a unanimous decision."
Hagan informed Jacksonville City Council of his decision in a closed session
Tuesday night. Yaniero briefly met with Phillips and deputy chiefs David
Shipp and Paul Spring prior to the 4 p.m. press conference Wednesday.
He will be introduced to city council members at their Oct. 5 meeting,
Hagan said.
Yaniero, who spent his career in Tennessee, said his first order of business
will be to become a citizen of Jacksonville.
"I think that's important in community policing, and my goal is to
improve the quality of life in the community," he said. "I think
it's so important to make people's lives better. That's why I got into
law enforcement."
On paper all six candidates interviewed last week were qualified to be
chief. It was the "grueling" interview questions that enabled
the panel to make its selection, Hagan said.
"The interview process gives you the opportunity to see somebody
under fire," Hagan said.
Phillips, Gary Yandura, a chief from College Park, Ga.; Steve Gilligin,
a chief from Smithfield; Dwayne Carr, a chief from Emporia, Va.; a chief
from Ohio who didn't want his name released; and Yaniero were all interviewed,
Hagan said.
A female chief from Virginia and a male chief from Florida were scheduled
to be interviewed but dropped out of the process and were replaced by
Gilligin and Carr.
After the interviews, Yaniero, Gilligin and Phillips were the top three
candidates, Hagan said.
The interview panel included Joe Yanessa, a retired Marine colonel who
heads the Onslow/Jacksonville Crime Stoppers program; former district
attorney Bill Andrews; Jamie McGlaughon, an insurance executive in Jacksonville
and Vanessa Ervin, the executive director of Carobel Homes.
Phillips, 51, said he was disappointed with Hagan's decision but wished
the new chief well.
"I hope his transition into the city of Jacksonville and the police
department goes well," Phillips said. "I plan on working with
him to make that transition as easy as possible."
Many people who wanted to see Phillips get the chief's position contacted
Hagan in a show of support. Prior to the interviews, Hagan said, it would
be great if Phillips got the job, but he was going to allow the process
to work.
"I know there will be a lot of people who will be disappointed,"
Hagan said. "Certainly you want to be able to promote from within,
but you also want the best candidate. I am concerned about the reaction
from the public, but I certainly would like the public to give Michael
Yaniero a chance to do his job."
Phillips said he appreciated all the friends in the community who supported
and encouraged him through the process.
"I would like those same people to ensure that the new chief feels
welcome in the community," he said.
Yaniero will replace Bumgarner who retired June 1 after serving seven
years. Bumgarner was making $88,563. Since Bumgarner's departure, Phillips,
Shipp and Spring have been rotating the chief's duties on a monthly basis.
Yaniero started his career as a patrolman with the Sullivan County Sheriff's
Office in Blountville, Tenn. in 1983. He moved up through the ranks and
eventually became SWAT team commander in 1991. He was hired as a deputy
chief and public safety officer of the Bristol Police Department in 1995.
A graduate of East Tennessee State University, Yaniero holds both a bachelor's
and master's degree in criminal justice. He also attended the FBI National
Academy and is a paramedic who worked for the Virginia Sate Police Med-Flight
II in Abington, Va. in 1986.
One of Yaniero's proudest accomplishments in Bristol is a Weed and Seed
program that he started in a high crime area. He said it reduced crime
by about 52 percent and increased parent participation in an area school
by 400 percent.
While he expects to make some changes at Jacksonville's police department,
he doesn't expect to do anything immediately.
"The most important thing to do is to evaluate the entire police
department and then start to change things, not as an individual but as
a team," Yaniero said. Contact Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@jdnews.com
or at 353-1171, Ext. 238.
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