Inver Grove Heights has found its next police chief.
Minneapolis Police Cmdr. Melissa Chiodo, who oversees internal affairs and is one of the department's few high-ranking women, on Thursday night won the backing of the City Council to oversee the 36-member force.
Of the four candidates who were interviewed by city officials on Thursday, Chiodo was the most impressive, according to Mayor George Tourville.
The vote was unanimous.
The city administrator now will work with Chiodo to iron out a job agreement by April.
"She was our No. 1 pick," Tourville said Thursday night. "She was very qualified, very articulate, very knowledgeable."
Chiodo was one of five potential replacements for Inver Grove's former top cop, Paul Schnell, who left the force late last year to become the new Department of Corrections commissioner.
The other finalists were Sean Folmar, Inver Grove Heights' acting chief; Joshua Otis, a commander with the city's police force; and Cmdr. Brian Wicke of the South St. Paul Police Department. Another candidate, former Prior Lake Chief Mark Elliott, withdrew from consideration this week.