CITY HALL — Chicago has a new top cop.
Alderpeople voted unanimously Wednesday to confirm police veteran Larry Snelling as the city’s next police superintendent.
After over three decades with the Chicago Police, Snelling now graduates to its highest position after serving most recently as the department’s counterterrorism chief.
Snelling was previously a commander of the Englewood (7th) District and a sergeant at the police academy, and has long been an expert voice on the department’s use-of-force policies at police trials.
Speaking to alderpeople after his confirmation was approved, Snelling said he was humbled by the honor to serve the city.
“When I go to work, or just throughout my day to day, I just try to do what’s right,” he said. “I find that that’s the most important thing: just try to do what’s right. And in this role I’ll continue to do that.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson picked Snelling from a crowded field of candidates that was narrowed to three by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, the civilian-led commission created under an ordinance passed in the aftermath of social justice protests in 2020.
The other finalists for the role were Angel Novalez, also a longtime Chicago officer, and Shon Barnes of the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin.
As one of the department’s experts on use of force, Snelling redesigned the department’s use of force policy and has testified in federal cases on the issue, according to his department bio and the Tribune.
Announcing Snelling as his choice last month, Johnson called him a “son of Englewood,” saying he was “fully confident” in his ability to be a change agent while keeping the trust of the force’s rank-and-file.
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Alderpeople on Wednesday lavished praise on Snelling, who’s been widely seen as a consensus pick popular among both progressives and more conservative City Council members.
Police and fire committee chair and retired police officer Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) said he’s known Snelling for more than 20 years, starting when they were both instructors at the police academy. Taliaferro said a familiar face is a “great opportunity” to energize rank-and-file officers.
“Many already know Chief Snelling and have trained with him,” Taliaferro said. “He has the experience and the rapport to work with everyone in the department … They came up with the perfect candidate.”
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), a progressive and member of the council’s Democratic Socialist caucus, praised both Snelling and the community process by which he was nominated to lead the department.
“We are proving … that civilian oversight and accountability is a help, not a hindrance, to strong public safety decisions,” La Spata said Wednesday. “In the name of accountability and collaboration, and in praise of civilian oversight, I am so happy to welcome you into this new role.”
Arne Duncan, managing partner of local nonviolence group Chicago CRED and former U.S. Secretary of Education, came to the confirmation hearing to support Snelling, who he called a longtime friend.
Duncan said Snelling has promised to collaborate with violence interrupters and community members to rebuild trust and stem retaliatory crimes.
“Not too many people have both the trust and respect internally with the police, and the trust of folks like us on the outside that work in the community,” Duncan said before Wednesday’s meeting. “It’s been a tough past four years for the police and nobody was winning … I’m very hopeful we can move in a very different direction now.”
Public safety chair Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) told Snelling during Wednesday’s meeting that he had a difficult job ahead of him. He brought up the ongoing surge of armed robberies that have plagued the city this summer and fall, especially on the Near West and Northwest sides.
“We are struggling with the reality that our residents do not feel safe,” Hopkins said. “I know you’re bringing your experience, commitment and passion to bear on these challenges we face as a city and you face as a leader. Among them is the armed robbery spree facing our city now … We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Woodlawn Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) was moved to tears talking about her appreciation for Snelling as a Black leader from Chicago. She said she’s had frequent conversations with him about public safety issues in her ward, and that he always calls “a spade a spade.”
“We usually pick folks who don’t understand our neighborhoods … too often government and community don’t agree,” Taylor said. “Nobody is saying we don’t need policing, what we’re saying is we want accountability when they don’t do what they’re supposed to do. Larry Snelling is that person.”
Snelling takes over the department from acting superintendent Fred Waller, who came out of retirement in May at the behest of Johnson to temporarily run the force.
David Brown, Chicago’s last permanent police superintendent, resigned in March, shortly after former Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to advance to the mayoral runoff election. A department outsider from Dallas, Brown struggled to win over the rank-and-file and make substantial progress on compliance with the department’s federal consent decree.
What Are Snelling’s Priorities As Top Cop?
Snelling gave few details about his specific plans for changes at the department, but said his priorities included improving officer wellness, stemming a robbery spree and growing common ground between officers and community members.
As robberies continue to surge across the city, Snelling said his detective division are deploying preventative strategies and “utilizing technology” to track “individuals…crews and repeat offenders.”
“We’re also going to have teams we put together just to focus on these particular types of incidents,” Snelling said.
Amid an officer suicide and mental health crisis, Snelling said “the first thing we have to do” is limit overtime and last-minute days off cancellations as the department continues to struggle with staffing shortages.
Snelling added he would like to hire more mental health professionals dedicated to police officers and expanding suicide prevention centers.
There are currently 18 licensed clinical physicians for the almost 12,000 sworn CPD officers, a police spokesperson said.
“We need to push our officers more in the direction of these resources,” Snelling said. “They need to have that time just to wind down.”
The new top cop made one pledge: “A significant increase” over the next year in compliance with a federal consent decree meant to implement broad reforms of the department.
“I’ve spoken with the monitors and we’ve had some very productive conversations about moving forward on this,” Snelling said. “We will be working hard to move forward.”
Critics of Lightfoot said she was not tough enough on Brown to march along changes demanded by the consent decree, including the end of a controversial foot chase policy. Brown fired a top official in charge of implementing the reforms, the Sun-Times reported.
Snelling did not directly answer a question about whether the department would continue to rely on the controversial ShotSpotter technology during his tenure as superintendent.
A city watchdog previously said the technology rarely produced evidence of gun-related crime, and studies have concluded it was too unreliable for routine use. Johnson promised during his campaign to end the city’s contract with the company that produces it, but has since been noncommittal.
“Here’s what I’ll tell you about technology, and we’re not looking at one particular company. We’re looking for the best possible technology that’s going to help us keep the city safe,” Snelling said. “And I’ll end it by saying this: I am for any technology that is going to save lives.”
Snelling repeatedly thanked Waller for being a mentor and promised a collaborative relationship with Johnson, who he credited for “being a listener.”
The praise from City Council members left Snelling “truly humbled,” but he asked that Chicagoans not forget about victims of crime, who he said deserve greater justice in their cases.
“As superintendent, there will be more changes,” Snelling said. “It’s going to be necessary to move the department forward, and to move forward our relationship with the community we serve.”
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