Fred Waller, who rose through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department to chief of patrol, chief of operations and then third in command, was named interim superintendent for CPD Wednesday, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson announced.
Waller's appointment is slated to begin on May 15, the same day as Johnson's inauguration.
"Chief Waller has dedicated his career to serving the people of the city of Chicago at virtually every level of the department from patrol officer to third in command, he has the experience and integrity to lead the Chicago Police Department during this time," Johnson said, adding that he believes Waller "will set the tone for the entire department during this crucial interim period."
Waller said his selection comes at a "crucial moment for our city."
"if there's one thing that could bring me out of retirement, it was the opportunity to lead and return to the place that I've given so much of my life to," he said.
Waller emerged Monday as the front-runner to serve as interim superintendent and, perhaps, audition for the permanent job.
"Throughout my campaign for mayor, in many conversations I had with Chicagoans, public safety was and remains a top priority," Johnson said. "And during such a crucial time, I've been committed to finding someone to lead the Chicago Police Department who is caring, collaborative, compassionate, competent in their approach to supporting the people of Chicago. It was also important to find someone who understands the dynamics of our communities. Someone respected by both the rank and file officers and the residents that they serve."
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Waller spent 34 years at the department before joining a parade of top brass to leave during the turbulent tenure of now-departed Supt. David Brown. He will now lead the department until Johnson picks a permanent choice from among three finalists to be forwarded to him by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability by July 14.
In August 2020, Waller, then 58, followed First Deputy Anthony Riccio in retirement and joined Riccio as a top executive at Monterrey Security.
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His tenure as interim superintendent could be a trial run for the permanent job, especially if Chicago makes it through the summer without a surge of violent crime or a repeat of the mayhem last month that gave Chicago a black eye around the world.
Johnson has repeatedly said he aims to choose an insider as Brown’s permanent replacement to help restore morale among the rank-and-file and stop the exodus of officers that has left Chicago with 1,700 fewer officers than when Mayor Lori Lightfoot took office.
The back-to-back departures of Waller and Riccio were a blow to the Chicago Police Department.
The retirements came just as CPD was working to implement a structural reorganization amid surging gun violence on the South and West Sides, civil unrest and attacks upon police officers.
“I never want to be seen as someone who walks away from a challenge, so that’s the hard part for me in this environment that we’re in right now,” Waller said then.
One week after Waller announced his retirement, the Sun-Times reported Waller had been suspended for 28 days for using the word “rape” during a meeting at police headquarters to express his feelings about officers being moved out of police districts to other units.
“Grope me, don’t rape me,” Waller said at the meeting, police records show.
He made the remark before a group that included federal monitor Maggie Hickey and Christina Anderson, the police official in charge of court-ordered reforms. Anderson filed an internal affairs complaint against Waller over the comment.
At the time, Waller was in charge of officers in Chicago’s 22 police districts. It was rare for someone in the highest reaches of the department to be suspended.
Waller told an investigator he later apologized to Anderson, Hickey and others who were at the meeting, the records show.
In an interview, Waller had said the suspension didn’t have anything to do with his retirement, which he said was based on changes in insurance and “the grind” of the job.
Waller said the punishment was “somewhat harsh” but understood “the message they wanted to send.”
Waller's selection earned praise from some city aldermen this week, with Ald. Anthony Beale calling it the "best move ever" and Ald. Matt O'Shea saying it is "the first good news for leadership of CPD in quite some time."
Ald. Pat Dowell, who noted Waller was once the commander of the 2nd District, said he is "hands on, accessible and effective."
“I think he’s a great choice and came up through the ranks," Ald. Gil Villegas told NBC Chicago. "Rank and file members need someone that they can look at as the superintendent that understands the challenges they face on a daily and want to serve under their leadership because he has lived it.”
