Fort Wayne Police Chief Gerry Hamilton will be stepping down from his post at the beginning of August to focus his attention on a citywide initiative.
Gerry Hamilton was appointed police chief in January 2014 and was Fort Wayne’s first African American to hold that position.
Hamilton now plans to lead a Community Relations Division of the police department, which is currently being developed. The objective of the division is to improve relationships between the community and local police.
“When I first took office I had talked about getting out in the community more; that was difficult to do being the chief of police,” said Hamilton. “But now is my chance to really get out and walk the neighborhoods and work with faith-based groups and reach out to the young people.”
Mayor Tom Henry says he initially shot down the idea, before Hamilton brought him the proposal. He says the benefits of the program could be important.
“The fact that he recognized a void in our community, and unfortunately that void is present in a lot of other communities and they are not taking advantage of the fact that this type of effort can make a significant difference,” said Henry.
Henry said there is extra money in the police department to be used for the creation of the program. Hamilton’s final day as police chief will be August 1.
