Minneapolis police Chief Arradondo said to be one of several finalists for San Jose job

Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo is under consideration to be the police chief in San Jose, Calif.

San Jose City Manager David Sykes chose Arradondo as one of seven finalists from a pool of 18 people, but one candidate withdrew.

A memo dated Monday said the remaining six candidates will be part of a candidate forum on Saturday and community meetings later.

Minneapolis police spokesperson John Elder said a recruiter sent the chief's resume to officials in California, but the chief has not had formal discussions with San Jose leaders.

“Chief Arradondo remains committed to the public safety of the residents and businesses of Minneapolis and continuing the important MPD transformational change in the spirit of healing and moving our city forward in collaboration with our communities,” Elder said Monday night.

Arradondo joined the Minneapolis force in 1989 as a patrol officer. He became the city’s first Black police chief in 2017. 

Four former Minneapolis officers face trial this year in the killing of George Floyd in May. Massive protests erupted around the world after bystander video showed officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck as the handcuffed man said he couldn’t breathe.

Two weeks after the killing, Arradondo announced he was withdrawing from contract talks with the police union, saying he wanted to reform use of force policies and discipline procedures. In August, Arradondo and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced changes to use of force policies that require officers to account for unholstering guns, among other measures.

Though they were not able to put a measure before voters in the fall, members of the Minneapolis City Council took initial steps to revive a proposal to replace the Police Department with a new public safety entity.