HYDE PARK — The University of Chicago Police Department has hired a retired transit district police chief to take over the force.
The university Thursday named Kenton Rainey as the new chief of police of the 100-officer private police force.
Rainey most recently served as chief of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department until his retirement at the end of last year.
He took over the department during the turmoil after the shooting death of Oscar Grant by BART officers in 2010 and was tasked with cleaning up the department.
At U. of C., Rainey will report to Eric M. Heath, associate vice president for the university’s department of safety and security.
“One of the many valuable areas of expertise Kenton brings to the University of Chicago is his involvement with creating innovative, community-based policing strategies,” Heath said. “Throughout his law enforcement career, Kenton has worked in diverse communities, where he built strong and positive relationships with community members and successfully implemented new policing programs, resulting in effective policing efforts.”
The job is a homecoming for Rainey, who is from Chicago, though he has worked for most of his career in law enforcement in agencies in California and Ohio.
“The University of Chicago is a world-class organization, and it is an honor and privilege for me to have been selected for this position,” said Rainey. “I’m excited to work with the members of the university’s police department, the university’s students, faculty and staff and area community members so that together we can achieve our public safety mission.”
Rainey replaces Fountain Walker, who left to join Heath’s predecessor, Marlon Lynch, in public safety at New York University.
