The head of the Chicago Police Department announced on Wednesday that he will retire after a short tenure leading the nation’s second-largest police force.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling took the reins of the 12,000-officer department three years ago as it was dealing with a mixed bag of crime. He touted the need for innovation and increasing trust between police and the community, as well as finding ways to tamp down violent crime.
Murders and shootings, which are typically the focal points for crime in Chicago, have fluctuated over the last few years, but so far they are down this year by 32% and 41%, respectively, compared to 2023, according to the most recent department crime statistics.
“I am closing out this chapter of my life with a heart full of gratitude for every Chicagoan and every community partner who embraced me during my time at the Chicago Police Department,” he said in a statement, which did not say exactly what prompted his reason to retire.
The superintendent’s job is a notoriously difficult one, and many past heads of Chicago police have lasted only a few years amid pressure from interest groups, including the local police union.
Snelling led the department through a tumultuous period in which hundreds of National Guard troops were deployed to the city as part of President Donald Trump ’s immigration crackdown in various cities with Democratic leadership.
He was faced with maintaining public safety while also avoiding appearing to work hand-in-hand with federal immigration authorities — a stance that could erode community trust and ignite new protests.
In 2024, he helped prepare the nation’s third-largest city for the Democratic National Convention in which then-Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the party’s nomination.
Officers underwent constitutional policing and de-escalation training and a smaller group of officers received specialized instruction on responding to civil unrest and riots.
He also led the department as it worked to comply with a court-monitored department overhaul plan, known as a consent decree, that was approved by a federal judge in 2019. The plan called for more community policing and expanded training on the use of force, among other things, in the wake of a U.S. Justice Department report that found deep-rooted civil rights abuses in Chicago’s force.
“We’re grateful for Superintendent Snelling’s dedicated leadership and the work we’ve accomplished together to advance a community safety strategy rooted in strong partnerships and deep community engagement across Chicago,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
Snelling, who grew up on the city’s South Side, joined the police department in 1992 as a patrol officer, the mayor said. He later served as the department’s counterterrorism chief.
In 2023, the City Council unanimously confirmed him as the city’s police superintendent.
Snelling will retire July 15. Fred Waller will serve as interim superintendent while the search for Snelling’s replacement is carried out, Johnson said.
