Finalists hoping to be the next Inver Grove Heights police chief again include internal candidates Sean Folmar and Joshua Otis — both of whom were finalists for the job in 2017.
The city received 30 applications last month, and five finalists were picked this week. They will be interviewed by city officials Thursday.
Folmar was named the department’s interim chief in January after former chief Paul Schnell was appointed commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Folmar started with the police department in 1995 as a patrol officer, rose through the ranks and became deputy chief in 2018.
Otis has a similar career. He became a patrol officer in Inver Grove in 2001, an investigator in 2005 and sergeant in 2007. He was a lieutenant from 2012 to 2018, when he was given a commander job.
The other finalists are:
- Brian Wicke, a commander in neighboring South St. Paul since 2012. Wicke started his career as a Washington County deputy in 1997 and joined South St. Paul police in 2002 as a canine handler.
- Melissa Chiodo, a commander for Minneapolis police since 2016 who has also been an officer, sergeant and lieutenant during her nearly 23 years with the department.
- Mark Elliot, police chief in Prior Lake from 2015 to 2018. He was a commander for Bloomington police from 1993 to 2015.