Lehman sworn in as Dixon’s interim police chief; committee working to select next chief in early June

DIXON — In anticipation of Dixon Police Chief Steve Howell’s retirement Friday, May 9, Dixon Deputy Chief Doug Lehman was sworn in as interim chief at the Dixon City Council’s meeting Monday.

The new police chief will be selected in the first week of June by a committee of 10 community members. As of now, the city is only looking at internal candidates. So far, four Dixon officers have applied for the position, Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss said.

Until then, “Deputy Chief Lehman will have the full authority of the chief, lead our department. We’re very excited about that and thank him for stepping into this role,” Langloss said.

Lehman has served on the Dixon Police Department for over 25 years and has been in law enforcement for 29 years, Langloss said.

“He’s [Lehman] been a very good police officer for many years...this will give him an opportunity to help with that transition between Chief Howell and our selection of a new police chief,” Mayor Glen Hughes said in an interview with Shaw Local Radio.

Lehman has not applied for the chief role and plans to only serve as interim chief, Hughes said. “That’s actually a positive. We don’t have a conflict situation there.”

To select a new chief, the city formed a committee led by Jon Mandrell, vice president of academics and student services at Sauk Valley Community College. Mandrell is a former police officer who served on the Polo and Oregon police departments during his career before making the switch to academics, Langloss said.

The other nine members are Langloss; Council members Mary Oros and Mike Venier; SVCC Police Academy Director Jason LaMendola; Discover Dixon’s Executive Director Amanda Wike; Dixon Public Schools Superintendent Margo Empen; two Dixon police officers; and the city’s new chief people officer who will start in that position May 22, Mandrell said.

Mandrell said they might be adding an individual from the state’s attorney’s office as well, but “I think it’s a good representation of our entire community on the committee.”

Over the next couple weeks, the committee is holding focus groups with officers to find out what their priorities are for the department going forward and what they’re looking for in their next leader, he said.

“Having feedback from the officers will be critical,” Mandrell said.

The candidates will then go through a two-step interview process. First, they’ll develop a 10- to 15-page “management action plan” that details their vision for the department in the future and present that plan to the committee May 22, he said.

Next, all candidates will be invited to the formal interview on May 23, when they’ll talk more about their department vision, leadership style and philosophy, and answer questions about their ability to lead at the executive level, Mandrell said.

Howell’s retirement marks 26 years of serving at the Dixon Police Department. He began at the department in 1999 as a patrol officer, then served as a school resource officer for about two years, then as a detective. In 2008, he was promoted to sergeant, became the detective sergeant in 2015 leading all major investigations and then was appointed chief in November 2017, according to dixongov.com.