Photo: Karyn Regal / WBZ
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) – The search for the next Boston Police Department (BPD) Commissioner is in full swing.
On Thursday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced the formation of a five-member committee that will help drive the selection of the next commissioner.
The search committee will “engage in significant public and stakeholder engagement, identify a search firm partner, interview prospective candidates and make recommendations on the appointment” to Mayor Wu in the next coming months.
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Wu expects to have the position filled by the spring and said she envisions having a commissioner who is not just about the law.
“For me the bottom line is public safety and public health are deeply inter-connected,” Wu said during a press conference Thursday. “Every way that we run our police department should reflect that.”
Retired State Supreme Judicial Justice Geraldine Hines is serving as the committee chair and is joined by former Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, who will not be going for the job.
In addition, Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory P. Long, who is currently serving as the acting commissioner, will remain in that role until a permanent commissioner is appointed. Long will also serve as an advisor to the search committee.
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The rest of the committee is made up of Senior Pastor at Greater Love Tabernacle Church Bishop William E. Dickerson II, Executive Director of Teen Empowerment Abrigal Forrester and Professor of Law and Deputy Director of Research & Policy for Antiracist Research at Boston University Jasmine Gonzales Rose.
All of this follows the two-day commissionership of Dennis White, who was appointed by now U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and suspended two days later after allegations of domestic violence became public.
People can also register for the committee’s public listening sessions on Thursday, January 20 at 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday, January 26 at 12:00 p.m. if interested.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) has more:
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