St. Petersburg residents are invited to meet the final candidates for the city's chief of police job.

The public can meet the finalists and ask questions at an open house scheduled for today at the Coliseum, located at 535 Fourth Ave. N. The event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m.

The candidates are current St. Petersburg Assistant Chief Melanie Bevan, Goodyear (AZ) Police Chief Jerry Geier, Montgomery County (MD) Police Capt. Terrance Pierce and Thaddeus Reddish, Asst. Chief of Police, New Haven, Conn.

The candidates are in town conducting interviews with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.

The mayor said the four candidates all are fine examples of leadership:

  • Melanie Bevan, St. Petersburg Police Asst. Chief: 25 years of experience with the department. Named assistant chief in 2012 after rising through the ranks.  
  • Jerry Geier, Goodyear (AZ) Chief of Police: Current chief and also has worked for the Orange and Osceola (FL) sheriff's offices. Worked in law enforcement for 30 years.
  • Terrance Pierce, Montgomery Co. (MD) Police Capt.: 24 years of experience with the department in Rockville, Maryland.
  • Thaddeus Reddish, Asst. Chief New Haven (CT) Police: 22 years of experience with the department.

The public can learn more about the finalists via their YouTube introductions.