St. Louis picks Delaware chief to lead police department

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The police chief of Wilmington, Delaware, who has been nationally acknowledged for his efforts to scale back gun violence, will grow to be the brand new chief of the St. Louis police division.

Robert Tracy’s appointment was introduced Wednesday by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, who mentioned she is assured Tracy will help handle violence within the metropolis with persistently one of many highest murder charges within the nation.

“Chief Tracy has a confirmed monitor report of lowering violent crime and has completed so in a number of cities and I consider he can do it right here,” Jones mentioned.

Jones mentioned Tracy would be the first police chief chosen from outdoors the St. Louis police division. He’ll start his new job on Jan. 9.

Tracy, 58, has labored in regulation enforcement for almost 40 years. Earlier than being named chief in Wilmington in 2017, he labored within the Chicago and New York police departments.

When requested a couple of plan to scale back violent crime, Tracy mentioned his first step might be to take a seat down with division leaders, union representatives, and cops to evaluate what town’s wants are.

“I promise you there might be a clear plan that might be on the market, however I’ve to get out and look beneath the hood to guarantee that I see what’s happening and I do know the problems which are right here,” Tracy mentioned.

The town mentioned in a information launch that Wilmington shootings fell by 56% and homicides dropped by 41% in Tracy’s first 12 months as police chief.

Former President Donald Trump acknowledged Tracy throughout his State of the Union handle in 2019 for his work in Wilmington, the St. Louis Submit-Dispatch reported.

“He modified the division,” Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki informed the Submit-Dispatch. “He modified the tradition solely. He’s been a fantastic chief. You may take the variety of detractors he has and put it in a thimble, and he’s acquired an infinite variety of supporters as a result of he labored actually onerous, and he’s lowered crime dramatically.”

However in January, the Wilmington council narrowly handed a decision declaring no confidence in Tracy, who’s white, due to the dearth of variety within the police pressure, a tense relationship between the division and town’s minority communities and a failure to offer detailed info on officer-involved shootings.

Story continues

Delaware’s NAACP department referred to as for Tracy’s resignation after an officer was recorded slamming a suspect’s head right into a plexiglass wall throughout an arrest.

Tracy is taking up a division with about 1,200 officers, 30.49% of that are Black, in response to a 2020 report. The town has about 293,000 residents, with 44.8% Black, in response to a U.S. Census estimate from July 2021.

St. Louis’ police division has a protracted historical past of rivalry with minority officers. In August, Jones — a Black progressive Democrat — signed a invoice making a Division of Civilian Oversight, an impartial company to analyze allegations of police misconduct and use of pressure incidents.

Three police associations, together with one representing minority officers, sued to cease the regulation, saying elements of the regulation battle with the Missouri’s Officers’ Invoice of Rights regulation, which protects officers who’re accused of misconduct.

Tracy replaces John Hayden, who deliberate to retire in February however agreed to remain longer when battle between town’s personnel division and the mayor’s workplace delayed the nationwide seek for his alternative.