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Top Cop Hopeful: Police Can't 'Act Like Redcoats at the Boston Massacre'

By Joe Ward | March 17, 2016 9:28pm | Updated on March 18, 2016 10:50am
 (left to right) Eugene Williams, Anne Kirkpatrick and Cedric Alexander are finalists for Chicago's police superintendent job.
(left to right) Eugene Williams, Anne Kirkpatrick and Cedric Alexander are finalists for Chicago's police superintendent job.
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United Methodist Church/LinkedIn

THE LOOP — Applicants for Chicago Police superintendent, the top job on the force, had to write essays ranging from how to root out police misconduct and how to stem violence. 

The finalists offered up theories, metaphors and history lessons for their plans. One applicant even said police can't "act like the Redcoats at the Boston Massacre," recalling the 1770 slayings of five colonists by the British, a landmark event in the American Revolution.

The names of three finalists were announced Thursday. Their essays revealed opinions as varied as their law enforcement experience.

RELATED: POLICE SUPERINTENDENT FINALISTS: RETIRED CHIEF, CPD VET, PSYCHOLOGIST

Finalists for the job are:

♦ Eugene Williams, a 35-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department who has had a slew of different titles including narcotics officer, homicide detective and chief of patrol;

♦ Anne E. Kirkpatrick, former chief of police in Spokane, Wash., and currently an instructor at the FBI's academy;

♦ Dr. Cedric L. Alexander, who holds a doctorate in psychology and has been a chief of police in Rochester, N.Y., and Dekalb County in Georgia.

Here is a sample of how each of the finalists answered essay questions in their job applications.

Q: Chicago has tried a number of strategies to reduce the rate of shootings, homicides and other serious violent crimes. What are the most effective methods of achieving reduction in these categories?

Kirkpatrick: "In 1994, Commissioner Bill Bratton accomplished a turnaround of an epidemic crime problem in New York City by implementing the Broken Windows theory to crime fighting. ... The theory was "that untended disorder and minor offenses give rise to serious crime and urban decay." Based on that theory, Bratton took a zero tolerance position on quality of life crimes, and New York saw an astonishing drop in violent crimes. If I am selected as the next Superintendent of Police, I would go back to basics and implement those practices that we know work."

Williams: "While we must never lose our edge with respect to intelligence-based policing; neither can we lose focus on the fact that our progress will be earned in the trenches. Respectfully, the 'trenches' so to speak, is the Patrol Division; which is the backbone of the department. I offer that we have shifted too many resources into 'Impact Zones.' We are obligated to provide Patrol with supervisors and officers (along with the necessary equipment) to man beat cars so that Patrol can provide and maintain a high visibility, which further serves to deter crime."

Alexander: "During my tenure as deputy chief and the chief of the Rochester (New York) Police Department, I employed community policing extensively; however, when gang-related violent crime spiked in one of our city's most challenged neighborhoods ... I responded by sending in a dedicated task force of uniformed officers. ... We did not go in as an uninvited occupying force — as soldiers — but as guardians, guardians of the community."

Q: Please discuss your philosophy regarding: the use of force by police ... and the so called "militarization" of modern police departments.

Alexander: "When police act like the Redcoats at the Boston Massacre, citizens have both the right and the responsibility to hold them accountable. They are justifiably enraged even by the appearance that 'brutal' officers are being unfairly shielded or when attempts are made to justify a militaristic response by claiming that 'it's a war out there.'

Williams: "I believe that the Chicago Police Department and law enforcement in general have been steeped in a 'warrior mentality' (kicking butts and taking names) for much too long. ... I firmly believe that law enforcement would do well to humble themselves with passionate compassion without looking for every opportunity to exploit the letter of the law or an agency's policy and guidelines."

Kirkpatrick: "...The police should have the mindset of being 'Guardians not Warriors.' This requires a sea change in our police culture. ... Unfortunately, force is a part of police work. But when the public trusts the investigation of that force, then its use is accepted as being legitimate."

Q: What does accountability mean in the context of policing?

Kirkpatrick: "As a former chief of police, my mantra was that we are in the business of regulating other people's conduct, so I expect us (the police) to regulate our own conduct. ... At times, corrective action includes termination in order to maintain a highly effective and well-run organization."

Alexander: "General George S. Patton once said that the 'only real discipline is perfect discipline.' My belief is that the only accountability is perfect accountability — without any winks or nods. ... As we want our officers to walk a mile in the shoes of those they serve, so we invite the community to walk in ours."

Williams: "It is not enough to individually know and do what is right, accountability demands that each member not allow others to exhibit inappropriate behavior in their presence or through any means of communication. ... Accountability eliminates any opportunity for the presence of a "blue code of silence."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel will now decide who the new superintendent will be with the approval of the City Council.

The mayor would only tell reporters Thursday, "I'm eager to meet them." Emanuel could reject all three candidates. 

Former Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who earned $260,000 annually, was forced out amid cases of police misconduct, including the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald. In the interim, he was replaced by John Escalante, who had expressed interest in permanently filling the job.

Williams Essays

Kirkpatrick Essays

Alexander Essays

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