CHICAGO — A former Baltimore police officer who hoped to reform Chicago's police as its top cop took to Twitter to complain about the finalists.
The search for Chicago's police superintendent has been narrowed to three candidates: Cedric Alexander, public safety director of DeKalb County, Georgia; Anne Kirkpatrick, retired police chief of Spokane, Wash.; and Chicago Deputy Police Supt. Eugene Williams.
Michael Wood Jr., who became well known for tweeting about misconduct among Baltimore officers and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, criticized those finalists in a string of tweets on Thursday. He didn't expect to be a finalist, he said, but he appeared to be surprised by the essays the finalists had turned in, sharing excerpts from their responses.
"I really can't get over that," Wood tweeted after sharing one of Kirkpatrick's responses. "The Chicago Police Board thinks that Chicago needs to be more heavily policed, after all of this. Holy s---."
RELATED: Top Cop Hopeful: Police Can't 'Act Like Redcoats at the Boston Massacre'
Wood previously said he applied for the top cop job because he wanted to help reform the Chicago Police Department. He hoped to allow the public to have a larger role in steering the department and wanted to make reforms that could be used across the United States.
“I started internally in Baltimore trying to fight the system, but I was too early. I was seven years too early,” Wood said. “If we’re going to fix it, what better place to fix it than Chicago?”
This over me? Kirkpatrick wants broken Windows return & police can police themselves? https://t.co/YmIls4F95E pic.twitter.com/ZyisB2cIWQ
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) March 18, 2016
I never expected to be a finalist, but you chose Broken Windows Policing???? Really??? Really????
— Michael A. Wood Jr. (@MichaelAWoodJr) March 18, 2016
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
