CHARLES MONROE: GET TO KNOW YOUR COPS >>>

The City of Lakewood has announced six candidates for its open the police chief slot. City Manager Andrew Neiditz will choose one of the six to replace long-time Chief Larry Saunders, who has opted to join to United States Army to fight in Iraq, in lieu of fighting crime in Lakewood.

The candidates are:

• Assistant Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar. Farrar has been a crime fighter for 20 years, mostly in Lakewood.
• Tacoma Police Captain Paul Mielbrecht. Mielbrecht has been a crime fighter in Tacoma for 30 years.
• Cheney Police Chief Jeffry Sale, 50. Sale spent 25 years with the Washington State Patrol before taking over in Cheney, Wash. Cheney lies southwest of Spokane, and has an estimated population of a little more than 10,000.
• Seattle Police Lieutenant Eric Sano. Sano has served 23 years.
• King County Sherrif’s Office Captain Scott Somers. Somers was an officer in Kent, as has been with the Sherrif’s Office for 23 years.
• Sammammish Police Chief Brad Thompson. Thompson has been with the King County Sherriff’s Office for 29 years, and has spent the past several years serving the wealthy lake-side community of Sammammish, near Bellevue.

Candidates were recently interviewed by a series of community panels, part of a long, deliberate public process that will culminate in a selection sometime this spring.