Standing before reporters on Thursday, July 3, 2014, Prichard Mayor Troy Ephriam sought to steady his city after an unexpected blow: the police chief it had recruited less than a year earlier was leaving for a job in New Jersey. In the same breath, Ephriam introduced the department’s new interim leader and promised that Prichard would move forward.
The mayor said he had first learned that Chief Jerry Speziale was departing through online media reports the day before. “It was something we couldn’t substantiate,” Ephriam said, describing efforts to confirm the news with his public information officer and Captain Walter Knight before issuing a press release and beginning the search for continuity in the department.
A new interim chief
To fill the gap, Ephriam named retired Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland, a Vigor High School graduate, as Prichard’s interim chief. Rowland, the mayor noted, had been the runner-up for the permanent job during the previous year’s search that ultimately selected Speziale.
“Chief Rowland was our No. 2 guy,” Ephriam said, “and him coming in today was not a consolation prize.”
Speziale, who had taken a position as the acting police director in Paterson, New Jersey, formally agreed to resign on Thursday morning after Ephriam spoke with him about the city’s need to move ahead. The mayor said Speziale’s departure was rooted in personal struggles and a bout with bronchitis rather than any dissatisfaction with Prichard.
Unresolved questions
Even as he praised Speziale’s work since October 2013, Ephriam acknowledged that the city was still sorting out the legal and financial implications of the exit. Speziale’s contract had stated he would serve as chief for as long as Ephriam was mayor, and it was unclear whether the former chief would continue to receive health benefits or other compensation.
“We haven’t had a chance to evaluate that,” Ephriam said, adding that the city’s attorneys would review the matter. “Preferably it would have been nice to have an idea. In the aftermath of that, it’s in our best interest to press ahead.”
Asked whether he felt disrespected at learning of the move through the media, the mayor declined to assign blame. “It’s hard to speak to the intention of an individual,” he said. “It is my hope that his decision will, in fact, make his life better for him and his family.” Speziale, he noted, had expressed grave concerns about personal issues he had been unable to resolve, and family members who were expected to join him in Alabama by summer’s end now would not.
Looking ahead
Ephriam framed the transition as a continuation of the search the city had completed the previous September rather than the start of a new process. He said the men and women of the Prichard Police Department would have a role in charting the department’s next steps, and he stressed that public safety remained unchanged despite the leadership shuffle.
“You’re going to see a better police force,” the mayor said, describing his approach as recruiting “peace officers and not just police officers.” He indicated Speziale might, if needed, serve as a consultant, but said the city had capable leaders already in place. “If we need him, we’ll reach out to him,” Ephriam said.
Pressed on residents who were unsurprised that a high-profile officer might return north, Ephriam kept his focus on the future. “We endure, we overcome,” he said. “We’ll be a stronger Prichard, we’ll be a better Prichard.”