Interim Police Chief Selected

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Effective July 27, 2017 Captain Lenny Austin will be the Interim Police Chief for the City of Columbia Heights
As much of the Community is already aware, current Police Chief Scott Nadeu has accepted the Public Safety Director position with the City of Maplewood and his last day in Columbia Heights will be July 27th. To ensure we maintain the same level of service the Police Department currently provides, and to maintain compliance with State requirements, appointment of an Interim Police Chief was a top priority for the Mayor and City Council.

Per the City Charter, the Mayor officially makes the appointment of the Interim Chief, as well as the permanent Police Chief when the time comes, but Mayor Schmitt asked the City Council for their input into the selection process. The City Council met on July 19th in an open session to interview Captain Austin for the Interim Police Chief position. Following the interview and hearing input from the public who were present at the meeting, the consensus of the Council was that Lenny Austin should be appointed as the Interim Police Chief. Immediately following that meeting, the Mayor met with Captain Austin and offered him the Interim Chief position which he accepted.

Captain Austin has been with the Columbia Heights Police Department since 1995. He worked his way up through the ranks and has been serving in the capacity of Police Captain since 2008. One of the Captain’s largest and most recent contributions to the Department has been his leadership of the Multicultural Advisory Commission.

Congratulations Captain Austin!