Cleveland mayor officially names Wayne Drummond as city’s chief of police
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb held a briefing on Thursday morning to name the man serving as the city’s interim police chief to the permanent position.
Dornat “Wayne” Drummond will now serve as police chief for Cleveland in a permanent role; it’s a position he said he never planned on working towards.
Mayor Bibb and Chief Drummond were joined by Public Safety Director Karrie Howard, Cleveland Council President Blaine Griffin, and Ward 8 Councilman Michael Polensek for remarks from the Collinwood Recreation Center.
“Sometimes you don’t need to do a search to find your leader. Sometimes that leader finds you,” said Mayor Bibb. “Over the past 6 months as mayor, I have been consistently impressed with Chief Drummond’s skill, dedication and genuine passion for the mission of protecting and serving the people of Cleveland. He has demonstrated from day one why he is the right leader to take our police department into the future.”
Mayor Bibb says his decision to appoint Drummond as chief was solidified after seeing him handle the murder of Officer Shane Bartek.
“His calm demeanor and his persistence to get that moment right,” said Mayor Bibb. “That’s when I knew we had a bright, shining star in Cleveland.”
Chief Drummond took over in the interim after former police department head Calvin Williams stepped down at the end of Frank Jackson’s mayoral tenure.
“When I started my career over 33 years ago as a First District as a patrol officer, I never envisioned that I would become a chief of police,” Chief Drummond said. “Every experience I have had, from that day until today, has prepared me well for this opportunity. We are not the same police department we were when I started. We are not the same police department we were a few years ago—and that’s a good thing. We are always getting better, and I appreciate all the support I have received from Mayor Bibb, Chief Director Howard, members of City Council, and members of our community.”
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