Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An announcement is expected soon concerning the hiring of a new Rochester Police Chief. Mayor Ardell Brede says a conditional offer has been extended to one of the two remaining finalists to succeed retired Chief Roger Peterson, who finished his nearly four-decade-long career with the Rochester Police Department in late April.

Mayor Brede says a formal announcement will have to wait until after the person offered the job successfully completes physical and psychological exams, and negotiates a salary and benefits package with the city. Brede says he’s hopeful those tasks will be completed in a matter of days and he’s hopeful an announcement will be made by the end of this week or early next week.

The process of hiring a new police chief took an unexpected turn last month when a background check revealed one of the three finalists, Dallas Texas Police Major Roy Alston, had failed to disclose had been the subject of a disciplinary action at a previous job and the City’s Police Civil Service Commission voted to drop him from the list of finalists. The remaining two finalists are Prior Lake Police Chief Mark Elliot and Captain James Franklin, who works with the Metropolitan Transit Police in Minneapolis.

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