Denver Police Chief Robert White Was Finalist For D.C. Job
DENVER (CBS4) - Washington D.C.'s mayor has named a long-time department veteran as the city's next police chief, and CBS4 has learned that Denver Police Chief Robert White applied for the job and was a finalist.
At a Thursday news conference, Mayor Muriel Bowser selected Peter Newsham to lead the department of 3,800 officers. The city reviewed more than 100 applications for the job and Bowser said she personally interviewed four candidates.
One of those four was White. Responding to a CBS4 investigation, the Denver Police Department confirmed the CBS4 report.
"When the police chief position became available in Washington, D.C. , Chief White did apply because of the unique opportunities it presented, such as, Washington D.C. PD is where he began his law enforcement career and where his son and grandson live."
The DPD statement went on to say that during his five year tenure in Denver, White has been recruited by numerous major city police departments for their chief positions.
"Chief White has never sought any of those positions," said the statement. "Chief White is strongly committed to the City and County of Denver and the Denver Police Department and plans to stay with DPD to continue transforming the department towards a more dynamic and innovative agency."
DPD said White knows and respects Peter Newsham and "congratulates him on his position."
White became Denver's 69th Chief of Police in 2011. He came to Denver from the Louisville Metro Police Department where he served nearly nine years as chief.
White's police career began in Washington in 1972 when he was appointed as an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department. In 1997 White returned to the D.C. police department as an assistant chief. The next year, he left to become Chief of Police in Greensboro, North Carolina.
White, 63, has deep roots in the nation's capital, having graduated from the University of the District of Columbia in 1993.
