KARK reports that nearly two dozen applications have been received, with more expected, to fill the job of Little Rock police chief.

The applications obtained through a public records request showed applicants from around the country and several with Arkansas jobs, though currently none from the Little Rock Police Department, led by Kenton Buckner for about four years before he took a job in Syracuse.

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The selection process has typically been led by City Manager Bruce Moore. But KARK goes to Mayor-elect Frank Scott for what HE is looking for in a police chief, perhaps a sign of changing times. Scott was opposed for election by the Fraternal Order of Police and he had critical things to say about police tactics outlined in a series of investigative reports by the Washington Post’s Radley Balko. Moore and Scott are also friends and Scott has said he envisions a changing shape of city government in which the city manager becomes more of a chief administrative officer. How much of this can be accomplished by simple force of leadership without a change in government structure is one of the big questions lying ahead for Little Rock.

In the meanwhile, KARK notes applications from top police officials in Atlanta, Denver, Fort Worth and Memphis.

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