Finalists for St. Paul police chief answer questions during public forum

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is expected to decide soon who will become the city’s new police chief. A search committee narrowed the field to five finalists who answered questions this week during two public forums.

The finalists are three women — Jacqueline Bailey-Davis, Pamela Barragan, and Stacy Murphy—and two men — Kurtis Hallstrom and Axel Henry. Four of the five have spent their careers with the department. 

At public forums this week, Carter asked the candidates how they define public safety.

“And what do you see as the most promising practice or idea in policing today?” Carter asked.

Jacqueline Bailey-Davis

Jacqueline Bailey-Davis — the only out-of-town candidate — has been with the Philadelphia Police Department for 25 years and is an inspector in its Standards and Accountability Division.

She said public safety means the equitable protection of everyone, and part of achieving that goal means helping people at risk of becoming repeat offenders. Bailey-Davis points to a work she did with the Institute for Community Justice where she visited Pennsylvania prisons and met with inmates who were about to be released.

“Myself and ICJ collaborated to have a plan for those young men and older men who are coming out of prison to make sure that they do not re-enter into the system and that they do not become recidivists,” she said. “So we understand that in this realm of public safety, we have to starve the criminal justice system.”

If picked, Bailey-Davis would become the first Black woman to serve as St. Paul police chief, and one of just a few leaders chosen from outside the department in its 170-year history. 

Kurtis Hallstrom

The other candidates have all risen through the ranks of the St. Paul Police over the last two decades. Senior Commander Kurtis Hallstrom oversees the eastern district. In response to a question about balancing the need to curb violent crime amid demands for a new style of policing since George Floyd’s murder, Hallstrom said collaborating with citizens is key. 

“If we’re out in the community and we’re listening to what the community is saying, they’re going to tell us who the victims are or who the next victim is potentially going to be. They’re going to tell us who the potential offender is going to be. If we listen to the community they’ll give us the answers. At the same time they’re going to tell us where we’re going astray,” he said.

Axel Henry

Like Hallstrom, Commander Axel Henry has been a St. Paul police officer since the late 1990s. He leads the narcotics, financial intelligence and human trafficking division. 

Asked how he would ensure the health of officers, Henry noted that the department has around five dozen fewer sworn staff than it needs, and many rank-and-file officers don’t have time to use the gym or take part in other wellness programs. 

“They will work themselves to death for our public and our community if we let them. They are their own worst enemy,” he said. “So we as leadership have to get out in front and make sure that we create environments where they can be successful, where they can feel that they can actually avail themselves of these healthy things. And that’s one of the most paramount things a chief can do.”

Pamela Barragan

Mayor Carter also asked the finalists how they would work with the Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission — a citizens’ board that handles complaints about officers. 

Pamela Barragan — commander of the department's community partnerships unit — says the commission provides a check on police and important feedback.

“Success for me in this area is when the community legitimizes what our police efforts are. It doesn’t matter what kind of program. When the community says I trust the St. Paul Police Department 100 percent, they’re not perfect, but they’re doing their best,” she said.

If selected, Barragan — who grew up in Ecuador — would be the first Latina to lead the department. Only one woman has served as St. Paul police chief; Kathy Wuorinen held the job on an interim basis for two months in 2016 and retired several years later.

Stacy Murphy

Assistant Chief Stacy Murphy hopes to become the first woman to serve a full six-year term as chief. Asked about her proudest accomplishment in 20 years on the force, Murphy said it’s been working with the Law Enforcement Career Path Academy to help people who face financial barriers get associate’s degrees and enter the profession.

“We can have a pathway for young people in our own backyard, homegrown talent right in St. Paul to be able to have a pathway into law enforcement and become St. Paul officers right here in our department,” she said.

Mayor Carter says he hopes to choose one of the five finalists by early next month and forward their name to the city council for confirmation. The new chief will replace Todd Axtell, who retired in June.