ST. LOUIS–ST. LOUIS–The next chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department will be Robert Tracy, Mayor Tishaura Jones announced Wednesday morning.
The decision ends a process that included two searches since John Hayden announced plans to retire late in 2021. He’s the first chief to come from outside the department. His first day will be Jan. 9, 2023.
Tracy has been Chief of Police in Wilmington, Del. since April of 2017 and recently announced he would resign regardless of the outcome of the St. Louis search. A Bronx native, Tracy held leadership positions with the New York and Chicago Police departments.
While Tracy has been praised for taking a data-driven approach to law enforcement strategies, The city council in Wilmington voted no confidence in him last year. He told reporters Wednesday that those issues had been addressed.
"I will work tirelessly to bring safety to your neighborhoods. I will work to give you a police department that’s responsive to your needs. A police department that’s accountable and accessible. But I need your help too," Tracy said in remarks aimed at city residents and those who work in the city. "Safer communities just don’t happen. It’s a mutual obligation we all have and can only happen if we work together."
Asked how he would mend a relationship with the Circuit Attorney's Office, which has openly clashed with police in recent years and refused to prosecute cases brought by certain officers, Tracy said he hoped for a clean slate.
"Whatever happened in the past, I’m not attached to that," Tracy said. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner offered her congratulations on social media.
The Ethical Society of Police, one of two St. Louis police unions, released a statement after Wednesday's announcement, saying in part:
"ESOP aspires to work diligently with the new chief towards making the agency equitable and fair for our officers and develop better community policing for all.
We have long called for more transparency and input. That starts with our plans to meet with the new chief in the immediate future to discuss our priorities, concerns and perspective.
We will hold him to high standards as we have previous chiefs and do everything we can to work together and support progress."
The St. Louis Police Officers Association had not issued a statement by midday Wednesday.
Tracy's last day on the job in Wilmington will be Jan. 6.
"The Chief came to Wilmington during a very difficult time and leaves almost six years later with record reductions in homicides, the lowest violence in a decade, the lowest number of complaints against our police officers, and a very high level of officer retention. He institutionalized Wilmington’s crime analysis systems and his improvements will be preserved in the upcoming change in leadership," Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki said in a statement. "Most important he built deep relationships with the community and the clergy. We are grateful to the Chief for his service to our City and wish him and the citizens of St. Louis well."
Tracy will earn roughly $175,000 in salary in St. Louis, with the St. Louis Police Foundation providing an additional $100,000 annually.
The announcement comes as state lawmakers have introduced bills for the coming legislative session which would put St. Louis Police back under the control of a state board. The department has answered to the Mayor’s office since 2013 after a 2012 statewide vote.