CHICAGO – Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today joined the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to celebrate and bid farewell to Charlie Beck, who officially leaves the Department today after serving as Interim Superintendent for the past five months. Beck joined CPD as Interim Superintendent while the Police Board conducted its months-long, nationwide search process for the permanent appointee to the Superintendent position, which Mayor Lightfoot announced earlier this month to be David Brown, former Police Chief of the Dallas Police Department. Following Beck’s formal departure today, Brown will serve as Acting Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department until his anticipated confirmation by the City Council on April 22.

“In a mere 20 weeks, Interim Superintendent Beck has prioritized our efforts to fulfill the consent decree, strengthened our department’s organizational structure to put resources and personnel back into our neighborhoods and helped lead our city through one of the biggest health challenges we have ever faced,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “There are not enough words for me to express what I personally feel about Interim Superintendent Beck’s contribution to Chicago, only that we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his incredible service.”

During his short tenure at CPD, Beck led a transformative, department-wide organizational effort to align Chicago with national best practices, streamline operations and deploy more than 1,100 police officers and detectives back to the districts. As the former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 2009 to 2018, Beck brought his experience of implementing nationally-recognized reforms and community policing initiatives that led the LAPD into compliance with its consent decree. As part of his reorganizational effort in Chicago, Beck prioritized efforts to transform the Department under the consent decree by combining all the functions tied to the reform effort under the command of a newly created Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform.

“I was honored to serve the people of Chicago, as well as the men and women of the Chicago Police Department,” said Interim Superintendent Charlie Beck. “Together, we worked to keep the public safe from the COVID-19 outbreak and reorganized the department to bring officers and detectives closer to those living in neighborhoods throughout the city.”

Throughout the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, Beck’s foremost priority was to safeguard the health and safety of officers and all residents of Chicago while also addressing the continuing challenges of violence. As part of his efforts to prioritize the health and safety of Chicago’s 13,400 officers, Beck re-deployed recruits from the Chicago Police Training and Education Academy to build 12,000 kits of infection control and protective gear for police districts. Additionally, following guidance from public health experts, Beck implemented new social distancing protocols at roll calls to minimize the risk of transmission among members by ensuring limiting groups to no more than 10 individuals at a time and holding roll calls outside.

As part of the Mayor’s all-hands-on-deck public safety strategy, Beck fostered Department partnerships with violence interrupters, block clubs and street outreach organizations to collaborate and coordinate resources and strategies to drive down crime across communities. Over his last several weeks as Interim Superintendent, Beck worked directly with Brown as part of the leadership transition process to build on these efforts by meeting with community leaders, clergy, aldermen and advocates to hear the concerns and priorities of Chicago's residents.

“Starting today, Chicago is now home for my family, and I promise to never stop working to make it a safer place,” said Acting Superintendent David Brown. “I hope to weave the strategies I’ve learned in my three decades of policing into the fabric of the Chicago Police Department. This means working in every neighborhood and on every block.”

Beck will continue to provide support to Acting Superintendent Brown over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition process. In addition, First Deputy Superintendent Riccio will work with Brown on the Department’s ongoing public health efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 while also sustaining citywide crimefighting operations to prevent and reduce crime in Chicago. Following City Council approval later this month, Brown will be officially appointed as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

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