Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced her choice of former Dallas police Chief David Brown as the next Chicago police superintendent Thursday, calling him the “humble leader” the city needs to lead it through its violence problem and the unfolding coronavirus emergency.
The selection of Brown, chosen from among the three finalists for the job named by the Chicago Police Board this week, was a crucial choice for Lightfoot, who picked a permanent top cop for the first time since being elected mayor last year.
At a news conference Thursday making the announcement, Lightfoot said Brown in Dallas made it a mission to bring peace to neighborhoods, and led initiatives on accountability and transparency. Highlighting Brown’s lifelong history of overcoming adversity and track record of reducing crime in that city, Lightfoot declared him the best man for the job here.
“In this time, in this moment, the Chicago Police Department — indeed our city— needs this humble leader,” Lightfoot said. “A man of integrity whose mettle was forged in tragedy,” she said, mentioning his time leading the department through a mass shooting in 2016 that took the lives of several police officers.
“I know well that a person’s true character comes through in crisis,” she said, adding Brown stepped up and showed exceptional leadership. She said when she watched news reports about the shooting four years ago, she couldn’t have imagined the day when she would be mayor of Chicago and choosing him to lead the city’s police force.
