A pair of finalists will interview to lead the City of Bismarck’s 151-year-old law enforcement department. Daniel Weigel and Jason Stugelmeyer have been named as finalists for the Bismarck police chief position that will be opening at the end of the month with the retirement of Dave Draovitch.
“It’s always difficult when you start talking about the end of someone’s career, but for a strong municipal organization to remain dynamic, we need that next generation of good leaders to step up and begin leading the department on a continued path toward success,” said Bismarck City Administrator Jason Tomanek. “The candidate pool was strong and we’re looking forward to the interview process with the finalists to identify the City of Bismarck’s next Chief of Police.”
Weigel, currently a patrol commander with the University of North Dakota (UND) Police Department in Grand Forks, has served various roles with that organization since 2012 including investigations commander, administrative commander, public information officer, patrol sergeant, investigative sergeant and officer. He also spent just over a year as a deputy with the Walsh County Sheriff’s Office. Weigel is a 2018 UND graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications and has served on the Grand Forks City Council since 2016.
Stugelmeyer, currently a deputy chief with the Bismarck Police Department (BPD), has served various roles with that organization over the past 24 years, from officer, detective, patrol sergeant and lieutenant. He also served 15 years with the West Dakota SWAT Team and was a three-time Badge of Hope winner, a two-time Meritorious Service Award recipient and named BPD Officer of the Year in 2007. Stugelmeyer is a 2000 graduate of the University of Minnesota-Moorhead with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Draovitch announced his intention to retire from BPD at the beginning of May, closing a law enforcement career that began in 1989. Seven individuals who applied for the position met the listed qualifications. From that pool, four candidates advanced to the accomplishment survey and in-basket testing, however, one candidate voluntarily removed themselves from this process prior to initiating the survey and testing.
The finalist interview panel consists of five individuals:
- Bismarck Mayor Michael Schmitz
- Bismarck City Commissioner John Risch
- Bismarck City Administrator Jason Tomanek
- Bismarck Human Resources Director Leanne Schmidt
- Bismarck Fire Chief Joel Boespflug
Following the interview process, a panel recommendation will be provided to the Bismarck City Commission as part of its regular July 22 commission meeting. That meeting will be held in the Tom Baker Room, which is in the lower level of the City/County Building (221 N Fifth Street). The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:15 PM. Agendas for City Commission meetings are traditionally available online toward the end of business hours on Wednesdays prior to the meetings on the Agenda Center.
More information about BPD is available online.