Commissioners Split on Requiring Psych Exams for Interim Chiefs

Despite the overwhelming support of their respective departments, their predecessors and city officials, Interim Fire Chief Jon Cohn and Interim Police Chief Brad Wentlandt have one more hurdle to clear in their attempts to be named to their positions permanently.

Then again, maybe they don’t.

The Greenfield Police and Fire Commission agreed Monday to investigate the procedure and cost of issuing psychological exams to Cohn and Wentlandt, the lead, and at this time the only, candidates to take over as fulltime chiefs of the fire and police departments.

If the exams are available at an acceptable price to the commission, Cohn and Wentlandt, both of whom interviewed with the commission Aug. 3, will undergo the tests as soon as possible, according to commission chair Dennis Clark.

If the results of the tests please the commission, it is assumed Cohn and Wentlandt will be named fulltime chiefs. If the tests are deemed too expensive, it appears nothing else is standing in the way of neither Cohn nor Wentlandt.

“I have no qualms about doing it. It’s just another hoop or hurdle,” Wentlandt said. “But if I were I sitting in your shoes, I’d ask myself, ‘What is that thing in that psych exam that’s going to make it OK (to hire us)? What is it in those answers that will satisfy me that isn’t satisfied now?’”

Commissioner Patsy Cashmore said the exams would be a waste of time and money. 

“They’ve both interviewed, both are highly recommended, the general consensus from everyone I have talked to is great, let’s get it done, and here we are vacillating,” she said. “In the end, this is the way we’re going to go anyway. I think we should vote on them, put them in place and let them do their job.

“Now it’s like we’re jagging them around, playing politics.”

Commissioners Clark, Nancy Kostecki and Bob Selin also want the exams, while Kelly Biever was on the fence.

“The mayor, city officials, the command staff of every department, everyone is recommending these two gentleman,” Biever said. “Based on that, I’d be fine either way if we went with or without the psych exam. … I’d like to know exactly what goes into it. If I don’t feel it’s appropriate, or if we’re not going to get anything out of it, then we don’t need it.”

Clark recalled the 2007 shooting in Crandon, Wisc., when Tyler Peterson, a full-time deputy in the forest County Sheriff’s Department and a part-time officer with the Crandon Police Department, shot and killed six people.

An investigation found Peterson had never been given a psychological examination.

“Would a test have shown he would have done that? Probably not,” Clark said. “(Cohn and Wentlandt) have both successfully passed (tests) in the past, and likely would again. But life events can change things too. Death in the family, financial stress … that can change (test) grades. I think we’d be negligent if we didn’t give them the test.”

Clark believed the cost of the exams would be $450 apiece; Wentlandt said exams for management positions could cost thousands of dollars.

Clark had originally suggested that the commission interview 10 rank-and-file employees within each department to get their take on the candidates.

Cashmore disagreed.

“When you have stressed good management practices in putting someone in place to take over when you are leaving as the top management person, the department generally expects that’s what’s going to happen,” she said. “(That interview process) disrupts the department terribly. The culture of the group, it becomes mess. I don’t know why we would want to do that at this point.”

Detective Brent Hart, the police officers’ union president, said Wentlandt is the union’s choice.

“It’s been a good group (of administrators), and ever since Chief Springob announced his retirement, there hasn’t been one person that came up to me and said, shouldn’t they go outside the department,” Hart said. “And we all assumed Brad would be the next chief.”

In other news from the meeting, patrol officer Christopher DeGlopper was unanimously promoted to sergeant. DeGlopper has 10 years of experience with the Greenfield Police Department.