Birmingham's Studt a Candidate for Juneau Police Chief

Birmingham Police Chief Don Studt is a finalist for the top police job in Juneau, Alaska.

Studt, who joined the department in 1974 and was appointed chief in 2010, will travel to Alaska later this week along with two other candidates to participate in a special assessment.

"This presented itself as a unique opportunity for me and I'm grateful to be selected a finalist, but we'll leave it at that right now," Studt said by phone Monday.

He formally told city commissioners about the opportunity Monday and City Manager Bob Bruner late last week. Bruner said he did not expect any formal discussion of the matter at Monday's commission meeting, and that it was premature to begin discussing a replacement process. However, city officials have known for some time that Studt is nearing retirement as a member of the deferred retirement option program, he added.

"We know that he's a short-timer in a sense, but we'll want to see if he gets and accepts the position before we really start discussing it," Bruner said.

Greg Browning, Juneau's current police chief will retire May 31, according to published reports.

Other candidates for the Juneau position are from departments in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Meridan, Idaho, according to Juneau Alaska Communications. They will join Studt Wednesday and Thursday in what the city calls an assessment center — where officials observe each candidate in different scenarios to assess abilities and management style. Citizens will also have the opportunity to meet with the candidates Thursday evening.

Studt, who's youngest son lives in Juneau, said he expects to be back at work in Birmingham next Monday.