The City of Bryan has named its three top candidates for the vacant police chief position.

Jay Burch currently serves as the chief of Mount Pleasant's police department. The city is between Texarkana and Dallas. The graduate of Sam Houston State's criminal justice program has been chief there since 2005. Mount Pleasant has an estimated 14,000 citizens.

Eric Buske was among the final three candidates for the BPD chief position in 2007. He currently serves as Omaha, Nebraska's chief, a rank he achieved in 2008. He has been a part of OPD in since 1984. Omaha's population is an estimated 438,000.

Bobby Whitmire has served as the interim chief of Bryan PD twice, both before the selection of Ty Morrow in 2007 and during Morrow's final days as chief. Whitmire was also an interim chief at College Station PD and was among the final five candidates for that position in 2008. He has served as Waxahachie's and Midlothian's full-time chief, cities with current populations of 20,000-plus and 14,500 respectively.

The full bios as released by the city, as well as pictures of the candidates, are below.

A panel consisting of City Manager David Watkins, Bryan city staff and citizens will interview the three candidates during the week of July 20. Watkins hopes to have a chief in place by early September. The following community members will be on the panel:

- Kyle Halbert, president of BPD Officers Association
- Royce Hickman, president B-CS Chamber of Commerce
- Daniel Hernandez, attorney
- Ernie Montoya, former BPD officer
- Justice of the Peace Tommy Munoz
- Annette Stephney, former council member
- Former Bryan PD Chief Charles Phelps
- Irma Cauley, county commissioner
- Sheriff Chris Kirk

A total of 33 resumes were received for the position, according to the city.

The acting chief of Bryan PD is Assistant Chief Peter Scheets, who had expressed interest in the full-time position.

Morrow resigned in June after a domestic dispute in November triggered numerous investigations and left Morrow on paid leave for nearly seven months. No criminal charges were ever levied against Morrow, and there was no wrongdoing found with BPD members involved in the incident's investigation.

Morrow made $122,000 annually in addition to benefits. The new chief's salary will be determined by qualifications.

Bryan PD consists of 103 officers, 40 civilians, 20 sergeants and six lieutenants.

The following are the bios released by the City of Bryan on the three candidates:

Johnnie (Jay) Burch Jr. of Mt. Pleasant. Burch has been in law enforcement since 1987, serving with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, DeSoto Police Department and as chief of the Gatesville Police Department. He is currently serving as the chief of police in Mount Pleasant, a post he has held since 2005. He attended Metropolitan State College in Denver, earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Dallas Baptist University and a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Sam Houston State University.

Eric Buske of Omaha, Neb. Buske began his career in Omaha as a patrol officer in 1984. He climbed up the ranks, serving as sergeant, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief at the Omaha Police Department before being named to his current position as Omaha’s chief of police in 2008. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Bellevue University and a master’s of public administration from the University of Nebraska. He was a finalist for the police chief job in Bryan two years ago.

Bobby Whitmire of Itasca. Whitmire began his law enforcement career in 1969 with the Fort Worth Police Department. He then started in 1974 as a public safety officer at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. He has since worked as a police officer in Fort Worth, an arson investigator in Cleburne, a director of public safety, interim city manager and assistant city manager in Watauga, a fraud investigations manager for Southwestern Bell and chief of the Midlothian and Waxahachie police departments. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Dallas Baptist University and a master’s in interdisciplinary studies from the University of North Texas. He has served as interim chief in both Bryan and College Station with his most recent experience being in Bryan this spring.