Three police chief finalists visit campus for sessions

Since the departure of former OCU Chief of Police Nelson Dexter, OCU has searched for a new chief to take over the position.

OCU has now narrowed the search down to three candidates and has planned three open sessions to meet the three candidates.

“The OCU Police Chief search committee highly en- courages participation in the finalist stage of the search process,” OCU Human Resources said in an email sent Jan. 23.

“Please make plans to attend an open session.”

The first candidate, Joe Koerner, served as the director of public safety and chief of police at Mid-America Christian University for 10 years as well as four years as training academy manager at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Currently, they serve as director of public safety at ASTEC Charter Schools and as an adjunct professor at Southern Nazarene University.

Sessions with Joe Koerner were held Jan. 26.

The second candidate, Tony Spurlock, has served at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office since 1993 including the Lieutenant Investigations Division, Captain Pa- trol Division, Division of Chief of Detentions, Undersheriff, and Sheriff.

Sessions with Tony Spurlock were rescheduled after this week’s storm to Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. at Sarkey’s Science and Math Homsey Hall room 100 on the Main Campus and 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Shdeed Conference room 403B at the Law School.

The final candidate, Timothy Thornton, served as an administrative specialist in the United States Army from 1991-1996, as a criminal investigator for the Southern Arkansas University Police Department from 19982003, as well as many other positions in project management and law enforcement across the southern United States.

They currently serve as the chief of police in Village of Hatch, New Mexico.

Sessions with Timothy

Thornton were rescheduled after this week’s storm to Wednesday, with final details pending.

“Both sessions [for each candidate] are open to all faculty, staff and students to maximize attendance,”

OCU Human Resources said in their email. More information about the candidates and their employment history is included in the email providing the candidates’ resumes.