St. Helens Police Department Sgt. Matthew Smith. (Submitted by City of St. Helens)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information. 

The city of St. Helens has a new police chief.

Following the resignation of former police Chief Brian Greenway in January, the city has been searching for a new person to officially head its police department.

Interim Police Chief Joe Hogue appeared to be the obvious choice after serving as the department’s temporary leader since October, when the city placed Greenway on administrative leave. However, negotiations came to a halt when Hogue and the city couldn’t come to an agreement on the terms of his contract, prompting Hogue to sue the city and Mayor Jennifer Massey in March. The lawsuit alleges Massey blocked Hogue’s promotion to chief of police in retaliation for his whistleblower role in exposing Greenway’s alleged misconduct.

In the midst of a lawsuit, the city opened applications for the police chief position and received applications from Hogue and St. Helens Police Department Sgts. Jose Castilleja and Matthew Smith.

The city convened an interview panel to evaluate the candidates, which consisted of the Canby Police Chief Jorge Tro, Wilsonville Police Chief Rob Wurpes, Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley, St. Helens police union representative Jamin Coy and City Councilor Russ Hubbard.

In a June 4 memo to the city council, City Administrator John Walsh stated that after interviewing the candidates May 29, the panel recommended Smith to be the next police chief.

At a June 4 meeting, the council voted 4-0 to accept the panel’s recommendation and make Smith the next St. Helens chief of police. Massey abstained from the vote, having declared a potential conflict of interest on account of her marriage to a St. Helens police officer.