The selection review committee met yesterday to determine the top candidates to replace Gordon Pike, Escambia County’s head of corrections. Pike retires next week and has been under scrutiny since the county’s Central Booking and Detention facility exploded on April 30. He was in DROP – Deferred Retirement Option Program – and his retirement date was already set prior to the blast.
The committee – made up of County Administrator Jack Brown, Pensacola Chief of Police Chip Simmons, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Eric Haines, Trial Court Administrator Robin Wright and Richard Johnson of the Florida Model Jail Inspections group – reviewed 17 applications and chose the six best:
* Larry Aiken, former ECSO Chief Deputy from Jan. 2010-June 2013 and currently employed by Edge Access Inc.
* Pike’s second in command – Community Corrections Division Manager Tammie Booker,
* Clifford Tebbitt, a jail administrator from Scott County, Iowa,
* Michael Tidwell, Chief Corrections Deputy Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office – headed Orange County Corrections from July 2007–November 2013, and
* Escambia County Jail Commander Brett Whitlock
The next step will be for the committee to interview the six finalists.