The Demopolis City Council is expected to discuss the four candidates for police chief at its meeting tonight (Thursday) at 5:15 p.m. Those four candidates are Randall Estes, Leslie Hines, Tommie Reese and Tim Williams.

“We will go into executive session,” said Demopolis mayor Mike Grayson. “That is for council members Bill Meador, Mitchell Congress and Melvin Yelverton — who did the second round of interviews; the personnel committee did the first round of interviews — to compare notes and discuss any information they may have dug up on their own.

“We will then go back into regular session, people will make any comments, we will ask for a motion and we will vote accordingly.”

Randall Estes has 22 years of law enforcement experience, having begun his career as a patrol officer with the Selma Police Department in 1986. He was promoted to detective in 1991 and served in the youth aid division for eight years, being promoted to detective sergeant.

In 1999, he began work as an Alabama Beverage Control enforcement agent and was assigned to Marengo County in 2000. In 2005, he was hired as a parole officer with the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, and is currently assigned to the state parole office in Choctaw County.

Estes was named the Selma Exchange Club’s 1997 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, and earned a certificate of appreciation for exemplary service from the Fourth Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office.

He has more than 1,000 hours completed in law enforcement training and schools, and coordinated and conducted drug abuse and gang prevention sessions for the Selma Housing Authority.

He has been a resident of Demopolis since 2000.

Leslie Hines is a patrolman with the Demopolis Police Department, having served with the department since May 2001. He has more than 11 years of law enforcement experience, having served almost four years with the Livingston Police Department, from 1997 to 2001.

Hines has been certified in a number of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) courses, including a basic SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) course, a sniper course, firearms instruction and patrol rifle instruction. He is also certified as a narcotics dog handler, tactical firearms instruction, Glock armorer and active shooter response instruction.

He has been active in the development of a SWAT program in the Demopolis Police Department and is an experienced undercover narcotics operations officer.

He was the winner of the Black Belt Rest Club sniper championship, placing first in the annual law enforcement pistol competition and the modified B-27 course and third in the FBI bullseye course.

Tim Williams has been the interim chief of police for Demopolis since June 2008. Prior to that, he worked with public safety director Jeff Manuel (who directed the Demopolis Police Department) on administrative issues in addition to his duties as a crime scene investigator.

During his tenure as interim police chief, he has hired six new officers, purchased six new vehicles and assisted with the Municipal Complex building project.

Williams has 20 years of law enforcement experience, all with the Demopolis Police Department. He was promoted to corporal in April 1996, then to sergeant six months later. He was assigned as a crime scene investigator and received certification as a fire investigator in 2003.

Williams has taken part in numerous training sessions, including sessions dealing with rape investigations, crimes in progress, patrol techniques, firearms training, child abuse investigations, school violence, emergency management training and patrol response to an active shooters. He has also attended Alabama Association of Police Chiefs workshops.

Williams is a 1986 graduate of Demopolis High School.

Tommie Reese is the chief deputy of the Marengo County Sheriff’s Department. Reese declined to provide background information for this article, saying he wanted to wait until the process is completed.