No rush to fill police chief post in Niles

June 15, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

NILES

Niles Police Chief Bruce Simeone, who has headed the department for 15 years, retires today, but the chairman of the city’s civil service commission says it is in no hurry to administer the examination for his replacement.

“We are not rushing into any decision,” said Thomas Harwood, commission chairman.

“We will conduct a deliberate process with a test or a series of tests designed to select the best physically and mentally capable candidate.”

Harwood said he expects the test to be administered in August.

Simeone, 62, joined the Niles police department in 1972 and was appointed chief in 1996. Mayor Ralph Infante attributed Simeone’s decision to retire to his participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Pay (DROP) plan of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund.

The plan permits collection of retirement pay, which is deposited while the fund member continues to work for a period of three to eight years, but the participant is required to retire at the end of the time period or lose the accumulated DROP annuity, usually in six-figure amounts.

Simeone could not be reached to comment.

Maurice Guarino, Niles safety director, said that Capt. Robert Hinton, 51, a Niles police officer for 28 years, will serve as interim police chief until a replacement is named.