The following is a list of heads of the Chicago Police Department.
Currently the executive of the
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...
is referred to as a "Superintendent of Police". Preceding titles included High Constable, City Marshall, General Superintendent of Police, and Commissioner of Police.
The current head, holding the position of "Superintendent of Police", is
David Brown, appointed by mayor
Lori Lightfoot
Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...
.
History
The original head of police position, existent from 1835 through 1842, was referred to as "High
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
". The position was an elected one.
The second title used for the head of police was "City
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
", which was used from 1842 through 1861.
[ The position was an elected one.][ For a single year during (1855-56) this time, Chicago briefly had an appointed Chief of Police position that co-headed the department alongside the City Marshall.][
The title used for the head of police from 1861 to 1927 was "General ]Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of Police". The position was an appointed one.[ After the Board of Police Commissioners was legislated out of existence in 1875, the office of City Marshall was brought back to jointly serve as the head of the Chicago Police Department alongside the General Superintendent of Police.][ This time, the office was an appointed one.][ By vote of the City Council on May 31, 1876 the office of City Marshall was to be abolished.][ The office was consequentially eliminated June 5, 1876, with the position of General Superintendent of Police reinstated as the sole head of police.][ From this point on, the city has had only a singular head of police at a time.][
From 1927 through 1960, the head of police was titled the ]Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
of Police.[
In 1960, the head of police assumed its current title, Superintendent of Police.][
Samuel Nolan was the first ]African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
individual to serve as head of the police department in an interim capacity, doing so from late–1979 until January 1980. Fred Rice Jr.
Fred Rice, Jr. (December 24, 1926 – January 10, 2011) was an American police officer for the Chicago Police Department who also served as superintendent of the department from August 1983 until November 1987. Rice is noted as the first permane ...
, who served as superintendent from 1983 through 1987, was the African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
individual to serve on a permanent basis.
Recent
On November 8, 2019, Mayor Lori Lightfoot appointed retired Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
police chief
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
Charlie Beck
Charles Lloyd Beck (born June 27, 1953) is a retired police officer, formerly serving as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and subsequently as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. A veteran of the department ...
as the city's interim superintendent. Mayor Rahm Emanuel had appointed former Bureau of Patrol Chief Eddie T. Johnson
Eddie T. Johnson (born July 28, 1960) is an American retired police officer for the Chicago Police Department. He served as the 62nd Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from March 2016 until December 2019.
Early life and education ...
as Superintendent on March 28, 2016; on December 2, 2019, Mayor Lightfoot terminated Johnson's superintendent contract for cause. He was preceded by Garry F. McCarthy, former director of the Newark, New Jersey, Police Department, as superintendent; this was approved by the city council on June 8, 2011. McCarthy was the highest paid city employee with an annual salary of $260,004. McCarthy was fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on December 1, 2015, after refusing Emanuel's request that he resign over the city's high murder rate and his department's handling of the murder of Laquan McDonald
The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDonald was behaving erratically ...
.
Prior to McCarthy's appointment, Jody P. Weis had served as superintendent of police since February 2008. At the time, Weis was the second Chicago police superintendent hired from outside of the city. He replaced Philip J. Cline, who officially retired on August 3, 2007. Weis' contract expired on March 1, 2011. Mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
appointed Cline's predecessor, Terry Hillard, on an interim basis.
List of heads of the Chicago Police Department
Notes
Orsemus Morrison's tenure predates the incorporation of Chicago as a city. While no mayor was serving at the time he was High Constable, John H. Kinzie
John Harris Kinzie (July 7, 1803 – June 19, 1865) was a prominent figure in Chicago politics during the 19th century. He served as the president of the Board of Trustees of Chicago when it was still a town and thrice unsuccessfully ran for Chic ...
was Town President
The position of "General Superintendent of Police" ceased to be the head of the Chicago Police Department prior to the end of O'Connor's tenure, which was December 29, 1964
See also
* List of heads of the Chicago Fire Department
References
{{Chicago