Woodard, who has been deputy chief since 2005, is serving as interim chief.
West Carrollton City Council is scheduled to meet tonight in executive session to discuss personnel. But City Manager Brad Townsend said he expects to make a decision on the job – which has a salary range of $72,327 to $92,437 - in early April.
Both finalists interviewed March 18 with a panel consisting of several community leaders after the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs helped narrow the list to six, Townsend said.
Friend has been police chief in the Cincinnati suburb more than two years. He began his career in law enforcement in 1978, working as patrol officer in Covington and West Milton before leaving the profession in 1979, according to West Carrollton documents.
Friend became a sergeant with the Tipp City Police Department in 2007, serving in that capacity before taking the chief’s job in Amelia, records show.
He earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Tiffin University and a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Cumberland College, according to city records.
Friend’s training and experience “has been geared toward using a common sense approach to enforcing the laws and aiding those who require it,” according to his application letter.
Woodard, who has worked most of his career in West Carrollton, began in law enforcement in 1985. In 1995, he was promoted to sergeant in West Carrollton and served as the special investigations team leader before becoming deputy chief nine years ago, records show.
Woodard has a master’s degree in strategic leadership and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration, according to city records.
“I believe to that in order to be an effective leader one must model the behavior that he or she wants their constituents to build,” Woodard wrote in application letter.
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