Since former Chief Carmen Best stepped down in 2020 after a controversial summer of protests and criticism of the department, interim Chief Adrian Diaz has served as an interim replacement. Now, Diaz, Seattle Police Assistant Chief Eric Greening, and Seattle Police Assistant Chief Kevin Hall, Tucson, Arizona, have been selected as finalists out of 15 candidates presented to a search committee by a firm that contracted this spring to conduct nationwide research. “Our search committee and reviewers have promoted candidates with our community’s expectations at the forefront – accountability, community-focused leadership and innovation. I look forward to meeting and evaluating these candidates,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a press release Thursday. According to the mayor’s office, the three finalists have been vetted and unanimously selected by four public safety evaluators and presented to Harrell to select an appointee, as required by city charter. The City Council will have to confirm Harrell’s selection. Finalists will participate in a public Q&A broadcast on September 15 at a time to be determined. Between now and then, they will participate in a “series of interviews with interested parties,” according to the mayor’s office. While Harrell has repeatedly praised Diaz and publicly encouraged him to apply for the position early in the search, the charter calls for a competitive hiring process, including three finalists. Harrell said this summer that his choice will be based largely on community input gathered through a survey and a series of public meetings.
Adrian Diaz
Diaz, who was originally hired in 1997, was promoted to deputy chief in 2020 after serving as assistant chief in charge of the department’s Office of Collaborative Policing. He assumed the temporary position in 2020. He has also worked in the department’s patrol and investigative units, among other assignments. According to the mayor’s office, Diaz has completed training from the FBI’s National Executive Institute, the Major Cities Chiefs Associations Police Executive Leadership Institute, the Cascade Executive Program and the Senior Management Institute of Policing.
Eric Greening
Greening has been with the SPD for 28 years and has served as assistant chief of the Office of Collaborative Policing since 2021. He has worked in the department’s patrol, traffic and DUI and narcotics units, among other assignments, and was promoted to captain in 2015 before becoming assistant chief in 2017. Greening completed training through the Senior Police Executive Institute and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government course at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education. He is also a Senior Certified Professional certified by the Society for Human Resource Management and holds a diversity, equity and inclusion certificate from Cornell University, according to the release.
Kevin Hall
The lone outside finalist, Hall has been with the Tucson Police Department for 30 years, previously serving as a patrolman, detective, patrol sergeant, SWAT sergeant, investigations sergeant, patrol lieutenant, Field Services Office executive and patrol commander. He has worked in the gang, child physical abuse, internal affairs, homicide and home invasion/kidnapping units and implemented the department’s pre-arrest diversion program for non-violent substance abuse-related charges in 2018. Hall has completed training through the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive in State & Local Government, the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police, the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety’s School of Police Staff and Command, the University of Arizona Eller School of Management Southwest Leadership program and the Foundations of Public Sector Leadership program, according to the release.
