Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Thursday appointed a five-member search committee charged with recruiting candidates to serve as the city's next police commissioner.
Retired Supreme Judicial Court Justice Geraldine Hines will chair the panel. Other members include: former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis III; Bishop William E. Dickerson II, senior pastor at Greater Love Tabernacle Church; Abrigal Forrester, executive director of the Center for Teen Empowerment; and Jasmine Gonzales Rose, a law professor and deputy director of research and policy for Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research.
"The first charge of this committee will be to engage in public and stakeholder meetings to seek feedback on the values, the vision, the skills, experiences and qualifications that Bostonians expect in our next police commissioner," Wu said, announcing the search committee from City Hall.
"We are committed to building a public safety infrastructure that addresses the root causes of violence and trauma, that is equipped to keep all of our residents safe and well," Wu continued.
The announcement comes as Boston nears one year with interim Police Commissioner Gregory Long helming the department.
Last year, Long assumed the post in the wake of an explosive controversy over decades-old domestic violence allegations against former Commissioner Dennis White.
White is now suing the city over his dismissal.
The search panel offers a first glimpse into the perspectives Wu is seeking to inform her police reform agenda.
Wu noted that violent and property crimes have decreased every year for the last five years, and that 2021 saw 40 homicides, down from 56 the previous year.
At the same time, she said, the city’s recent challenges with substance use disorder and mental health along with the pressure of coping with the coronavirus pandemic demonstrate a need for public safety that is informed with public health principles.
"Delivering public safety through a lens of public health and community trust requires hard and ongoing work at the Boston Police Department and that begins with leadership at the top," Wu said. "It also means building a process that is transparent, communicative and responsive to our community."
The search committee's first public meetings are scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20 and Wednesday, Jan. 26.
