Actor Morgan Freeman helps interview GSPD candidates

Actor Morgan Freeman helps interview GSPD candidates

From the 100 applicants vying to become Gulf Shores Police officers over the last three months, only nine made it to the interview process following orientation, physical agility testing and written examinations.
The interviews are conducted by GSPD command level officers, officers with command rank from another agency and members of the community including Ole Miss legal studies professor Linda Keena and David Bass, a former assistant sergeant at arms for the United States Senate. Others on the committee included Sergeant Major (Ret) Bryan Battaglia, Deputy Chief of Police Daniel Netemeyer, Chief of Police Edward Delmore and Chief Scott Stewart.
But it was a third commitee member, actor Morgan Freeman, that created a social media buzz. Freeman is a Mississippi native who owns property in Gulf Shores and spends time here. Also an award winning director, producer and narrator, Freeman and Keena recently donated $1 million to establish the Center of Evidence-Based Policing and Reform at Ole Miss.
The next steps for the remaining candidates include extensive background investigations, psychological examinations, medical evaluations, polygraph examinations, and drug screening.
“It was kind of a last minute thing, but he was an active participant,” Deputy Chief Netemeyer said. “He had a hat on, and he was kind of sitting back. When he introduced himself it was almost like an old ‘Candid Camera’ scene. It was that voice, the same one you hear in the movies.’’
Pictured: (l to r) Freeman, Dr. Keena, Sergeant Major Battaglia, Deputy Chief Netemeyer.