A new Los Altos police chief has been chosen, but the new would-be leader has yet to be revealed.
The candidate is undergoing a background check, a process that could take a minimum of four weeks, City Manager Gabriel Engeland told the Town Crier in an email Monday.
In the meantime, captains Katie Krauss and Joe Ledoux are serving as interim chiefs of police.
The search was prompted after former police chief Angela Averiett left for an interim police chief position in San Leandro. Engeland said the search for her successor began shortly after her resignation in February.
Six candidates were interviewed for the position by a panel of community members, city staff and local police chiefs last week.
“At the conclusion of Tuesday (April 16), we invited (three) applicants back for final interviews,” Engeland said. “Yesterday evening (April 17) we made an offer to one of the candidates, and it was accepted.”
Averiett had been Los Altos police chief for approximately a year and a half, but Engeland indicated she did a lot in a relatively short time.
“Chief Angela Averiett accomplished much of what she set out to do in Los Altos, including modernizing many of our police services and focusing on community-oriented policing,” he said when the city announced her resignation Feb. 22.
Staff held a small goodbye celebration for Averiett April 17. She’s due to start in San Leandro before the end of the month.
