Michael Rallings
Memphis Police Interim Director Michael Rallings has been chosen to fill the permanent police director role, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced on Facebook Sunday afternoon.
Rallings had put his name in the hat for the job to fill the position vacated by former director Toney Armstrong. But Strickland conducted a national search and was also considering Malik Aziz (deputy chief of the Dallas Police Department), Patrick Melvin (former chief of the Salt River Police Department in Arizona), Joseph Sullivan (chief inspector of the Philadelphia Police Department), Branville Bard (police chief and director of public safety with the Philadelphia Housing Authority), and Richard Bash (deputy chief of police at the Columbus Police Department in Ohio).
Here’s Strickland’s statement from Facebook:
“I promised Memphians that I would find the best possible police director in the nation to meet our city’s needs. After a comprehensive process in which I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of our candidates, I’m convinced the best leader for Memphis Police Department est.1827 is Michael Rallings.
So today, I offered our interim director the title of director. And I’m thrilled to share with you that he accepted.You already know that Director Rallings is tested and has what it takes for this demanding job. I’m impressed with his commitment and results both in fighting crime and leading a fair, responsible and trustworthy police department.
My appointment is the product of a national search I promised in my campaign. Our six recommended candidates interviewed Wednesday, and to ensure a broad cross-section of input on the hire, I also included panels representing law enforcement, the community, the city administration and civic leaders.
We’ll hold a news conference Monday (which we’ll stream live here), and I’ll be presenting my appointment to the City Council Tuesday.
I hope you’ll join me in congratulating Michael Rallings!”
