Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen speaks to members of the Centralia Downtown Association in April, 2019 about a recent spate of burglaries in the area.
Centralia Police Chief Carl Nielsen was announced Tuesday as one of three finalists for the police chief position at the City of Bainbridge Island.
According to a news release, Nielsen and two other finalists — Joe Clark, of Norfolk, Virginia, and Dave Westrick, of Hollister, California — at a reception scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 20 at Bainbridge Island’s city hall.
“I’m excited to have such a strong slate of finalists for the City to consider as our next Police Chief,” said City Manager Morgan Smith in a news release. “This is a critical position within the organization, and it’s important that we select a Chief who can continue to build on the positive connections that exist between our community and its Police Department.”
Nielsen told The Chronicle that he has worked in the past four and a half years in Centralia to prioritize “the hiring and mentoring of creative people” and to challenge his staff to grow in their positions to benefit the department.
“As part of that process, I have encouraged our staff to constantly look for ways to challenge themselves to grow both personally and professionally,” Nielsen wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “Taking my own advice, I looked into the Chief’s position at the City of Bainbridge Island. What I found was a community and department that is working in harmony, but similar to what I found when I came to Centralia, staff that is eager to grow. Since our department is positioned for successful growth for the foreseeable future, I decided to apply for the Bainbridge Island spot.”
The three finalists were selected from a pool of 35 applicants for the position, according to the news release.
Nielsen said the process has been very competitive and that he is scheduled to participate in a two-day testing process for the position.
“If I am fortunate enough to be selected, I can assure the Centralia community that their police department is in great shape and in the capable hands of outstanding leadership and staff,” he wrote.
According to the news release, Bainbridge Island is seeking a police chief with leadership experience and a commitment to high standards set by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
Nielsen has been the chief in Centralia since 2015. He began his career with the San Diego Police Department in 1985, and was a captain and lieutenant at the Turlock Police Department in Turlock, California before coming to Centralia.
While in Centralia, Nielsen has revamped the command structure at the Centralia Police Department, has helped select and train dogs to work in the Centralia and Chehalis K9 programs and has recently expanded the Centralia department’s K9 program, adding a second patrol K9 and a dedicated drug-sniffing dog.
Under Nielsen’s leadership, the Centralia Police Department has also joined the national “Safe Place” program to fight hate crimes against the LGBTQ community earlier this year.
He was a finalist for the police chief position at the City of Lacey in 2018.
