TOLEDO (WTOL) - Tuesday night was the end of a lengthy statewide search for the new Perrysburg Police Chief.
Detective Patrick Jones was confirmed for the job following a recommendation from Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin last week.
“He went through the process really well and really stood out. His answers were good and his thoughts about the direction he wanted to take the department were good consistent with what I want to have happen,” Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin said.
Perrysburg has not had a police chief since Daniel Paez resigned in January after a independent investigation revealed he failed to help the Perrysburg Township Police Department in a situation that resulted in an officer-involved shooting over last summer.
Paez resigned with the intention of retiring back in January.
Mackin’s candidate has been on the Perrysburg Police Department for 15 years, although the mayor said this was not the reason he was chosen.
“Being an internal candidate was not really a factor because what our process was to choose the person who’s the best qualified and would serve the residents of this community in the best manner. And he rose to the top regardless of the process," Mackin said.
Ten out of the 15 years Jones has been in the force he spent it as a detective working specifically with computer forensics. Over the past few months Jones has worked with fellow officers to make sure the department was able to run safely without a chief.
“At the same time, it was kind of a situation where we couldn’t really move forward. I am really excited to move forward looking into the future and I know our officers are too,” Jones said.
The Perrysburg Police Department is currently short on officers, particularly lieutenants. Jones plans to start by building the department in order to secure safety within the city for the future.
“I do want to get a command structure in place and I want to start training our future leaders so when I retire someday we have multiple candidates from within and lead this agency into the future” he said.