CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday will introduce Larry Snelling, the police division’s counterterrorism head, as his alternative for police superintendent of the nation’s third-largest metropolis.

The introduction comes after Johnson named Snelling on Sunday after a monthslong search led by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. The choice of Snelling, 54, to go the division is topic to City Council approval.

Snelling will succeed David Brown, who in March introduced that he would step down the day after Chicago’s mayoral major election wherein crime was a central concern. Then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot misplaced that major, and Johnson went on to win the mayoral race in April.

“Today, a new chapter begins in our journey to create a better, stronger and safer Chicago,” Johnson mentioned in a information launch Sunday. “Chief Snelling is a proven leader who has the experience and the respect of his peers to help ensure the safety and well-being of city residents, and address the complex challenges we all face related to community safety.”

Snelling was raised on the town’s South Side and attended its public colleges. He has a bachelor’s diploma in grownup training from DePaul University and joined the division in 1992 as a patrol officer.

“It is a tremendous honor to answer the call to serve my hometown and the people of Chicago as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department,” Snelling mentioned in a press release. “It is also a tremendous responsibility, and one that I do not take lightly.”

“In order to continue to make progress as a department, we must embrace innovation, continue to strengthen morale, and go further in strengthening bonds of trust between police and community,” Snelling mentioned.

He has been chief of the division’s bureau of counterterrorism, which coordinates with the Office of Emergency Management and Communication and different metropolis companies, since 2022.

While crime in Chicago usually focuses on murders and shootings, the numbers up to now in 2023 are down in each classes by 5% and 10%, respectively, in line with the latest division crime statistics. However, general main crime charges are up 35% up to now this 12 months over 2022.

Snelling was certainly one of three finalists nominated by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. The different two finalists had been Shon Barnes, the police chief in Madison, Wisconsin; and Angel Novalez, Chicago police chief of constitutional policing and reform.

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com