NATCHEZ — The pool of the 12 applicants for Natchez police chief will be cut in half this week.

Civil Service Commission Chairman Dante Weir said the commission will meet Wednesday to narrow the chief applications down to six. Weir said the commission will also discuss scheduling the interviews of the potential candidates.

The commission is composed of Weir, James Cole and Robert McNeely.

The commission, Weir said, will interview the six candidates and then eliminate two or three candidates. He said the commission will recommend the remaining candidates to be interviewed by the Natchez Board of Aldermen.

Weir predicts that the commission’s interview process will be complete during the second or third week of January. Weir said he believes the hiring process is on track to meet Mayor Jake Middleton’s goal of having a new police chief hired by the end of January.

Middleton said he is pleased with the progress that is being made in hiring a new chief.

“Everything is moving along and running smoothly, and that is the most important thing,” he said.

The new chief will fill the position left open after the aldermen asked former chief Mike Mullins to retire early in November.

The aldermen appointed Capt. Danny White as interim police chief. White has said he applied for the position of chief, along with Capt. Tom McGehee and Capt. Scott Frye. The other applicants are unknown.