Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk announced Monday that interim Police Chief Brian Manley is the lone finalist to be the city’s top cop permanently, but Cronk said the city still has the option of launching a national search if the community asks for it.

Cronk said this is only the beginning of a community engagement process in which the city will “vet who we have now, and if we need to go to a national search, let’s do it then,” he said.

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Interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, left, and City Manager Spencer Cronk talk to attendees at the Community Journalist Conference at ... Read More

“Hiring a permanent chief should be a long-term investment, and the community should know what they’re investing in,” Cronk said. “That requires a full and open dialogue of both the chief’s vision and the community’s expectations to determine whether he is, in fact, our next police chief.”

Manley, a 28-year veteran of the Austin Police Department, said he looks forward to that vetting process with the community.

“I was both honored and humbled by this opportunity,” Manley said. “These have been a great 17 months getting to serve as the chief in a community that I’ve grown up with, that I call my home, with men and women that I consider my family.”

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Austin Interim Police Chief Brian Manley speaks about being named the lone finalist for the police chief job at a news ... Read More

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Manley might have inherited some problems at the department from his predecessor and former boss — Art Acevedo, now Houston’s police chief — but he also faced and surmounted new challenges that included an apology as he shuttered the police DNA lab, taking hundreds of police vehicles offline because of probable carbon monoxide poisoning, ushering in the department’s wider use of body cameras, and leading the effort to stop a deadly serial bomber.

The Greater Austin Crime Commission, which supports Central Texas first responders and promotes public safety planning, released a lengthy statement with comments from nearly 30 people, including business leaders and ministers.

“Chief Brian Manley has the experience and vision to lead the Austin Police Department,” said David Roche, the commission’s president. “His exemplary performance during the past 17 months has proven Brian Manley is the best and only choice for police chief.”

Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, District Attorney Margaret Moore and County Attorney David Escamilla said they have worked side by side with Manley “and have found him to be a man of great integrity and grit who is blessed with good common sense and a genuine compassion for the city he serves.”

But Chas Moore, who leads the Austin Justice Coalition, issued a more tepid observation. He praised aspects of Manley’s performance but said the group will continue pushing for “anti-racist ideology, policies and practices at APD” and will plan to rigorously question Manley on those topics.

“In the event that Manley doesn’t pass muster, we fully expect the city manager to perform a full, national search,” Moore’s statement said.

For the next several weeks, Manley will go through what Cronk called “a robust community engagement process” in which citizens will meet with Manley to help determine whether he should be appointed to the job of leading 1,900 officers or the city should conduct a wider hunt for applicants.

Cronk has already scheduled several community forums with Manley, including the first one next Monday at 6 p.m. at the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center at 7201 Colony Loop Drive.

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Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk speaks about naming Brian Manley the lone finalist for the job of Austin Police Chief at ... Read More

RELATED: Activist says call to make Manley chief after bombings politicizes attacks

Also, “residents can provide their thoughts online, by email, via text or over the phone by calling 311,” Cronk said. “We want to hear from as many voices as possible.”

Cronk, who became Austin’s city manager in February, said he was taking this approach after meeting with community leaders and taking input from City Council members.

He said he wants Manley to have an opportunity to share his vision for the department and policing, and that residents should have the chance to ask questions or express their concerns.

Although he said he was not yet ready to hire Manley, Cronk said he does have some of the key traits he wants on his leadership team: “A focus on partnerships, a commitment to community involvement, and a positive and innovative view toward the future,” Cronk said. “I believe that Manley embodies these characteristics.”

Manley was appointed acting chief after Acevedo departed for Houston in November 2016. Acevedo congratulated Manley on Twitter soon after Cronk’s announcement.

During the bombing attacks in Austin last month, Manley received national exposure and increased support from many community leaders and some City Council members, who began expressing growing frustration that he had not already been named.

Part of the delay has been the desire among city officials to allow a new city manager to appoint a chief.

Some of Austin’s most vocal civic leaders, including NAACP leader Nelson Linder, have said they enjoy a positive relationship with Manley. But they contend the community should be part of the process — and provide input — for hiring a chief.

OP-ED: City Hall should value public input in police chief search

Moore’s justice coalition said in its statement that they remain concerned about aspects of how Manley handled the bombings, including what they said was his reluctance to identify the bomber as a terrorist.

“It came after many days of intense self-reflection and outside pressure,” the statement said. He said the organization plans to engage in a “rigorous, no-punches-pulled inquiry as we consider him for the job.”

If Manley is hired, it would be the first time in decades that the city has named a chief who rose through the ranks of the department instead of going outside. Manley joined the department in 1990.

He oversees a budget of $422 million.

Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association, praised Manley’s career and said he has had success “every step of the way.”

“Chief Manley has provided the city of Austin with some of the finest leadership over the past several weeks when dealing with the bomber and several officer-involved shootings,” he said. “Due to these reasons, Chief Manley more than deserves to be named finalist for chief of police.”