PENSACOLA, Fla. — Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom spent Tuesday on the gulf coast as he continues his effort to be hired by the City of Pensacola.
Winstrom is one of three finalists for the city's open chief of police position. The other finalists are Brian Dugan, the retired chief of police for Tampa, Fla., and Erik Goss, the current acting deputy police chief in Pensacola.
On Tuesday, the three men took part in a public forum, answering questions from the community for roughly an hour.
Wednesday was reserved for interviews open to the public, which started just before 10 a.m.
Based in the far west of Florida's panhandle, Pensacola sits on the Gulf Coast, near Mobile, Alabama. It has an estimated population of just under 54,000 people, according to the U.S. Census. Grand Rapids is estimated to have more than 200,000 residents.
Winstrom started as Grand Rapids' police chief in March, 2022. He previously spent more than 20 years with the Chicago Police Department.
In a statement sent to FOX 17 in December, Winstrom did not say why he applied for the position, but committed to continue his work as Grand Rapids police chief through the hiring process in Pensacola.
I am asking for your patience with me over the next three weeks as I try to make the best decisions for my family and me.
Aside from my quick trip in January, I will be as engaged here as ever. While the outcome of this process is still to be determined, I remain fully committed to ensuring the City of Grand Rapids is a community where people feel safe and are safe at all times.
We have lots of work over the next few weeks to get the budget ready, to honor our officers, make sure our staffing continues to rise, and to give the city the best leadership that I’m capable of.
It is not clear how or when the City of Pensacola will decide on which candidate it prefers for its next police chief.
