PASADENA : Baltimore Looking at Police Chief Oliver

Police Chief Jerry Oliver is one of four candidates being considered to head Baltimore’s 2,900-member police force.

Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke is expected to choose his police commissioner by the end of the month. The other three candidates are San Jose Deputy Chief of Police Thomas C. Frazier; New York Assistant Chief Joseph R. Leake, and St. Petersburg, Fla., police academy director Mack M. Vines. The post pays $93,000 a year.

Baltimore officials “asked for my permission to put my resume in the hopper,” Oliver said Thursday. “I’m surprised and honored that I’m one of the finalists.”

Oliver added that his candidacy does not mean that he has become disenchanted with Pasadena. “I’m as committed as when I first showed up,” said Oliver, 46, who came to Pasadena 2 1/2 years ago from Phoenix.