City of DeKalb names next police chief: Illinois State Police Deputy Director Col. David Byrd

DeKALB – The City of DeKalb has named their next top cop who will be the first full-time police chief in nearly two years: Illinois State Police Col. David Byrd, who currently serves as the deputy director for the state police agency.

DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said during the City Council meeting on Monday that he strongly supports the city’s citizen-led search committee’s recommendation to appoint Byrd, who has three decades of law enforcement experience with state police under his belt. He said the city already sent an offer of employment letter to Byrd, who accepted. He’ll start his position in the spring.

Nicklas said he believes Byrd is the right fit for the position, as Byrd is well known in the Chicago area and has proved himself to be a dynamic, hands-on leader who prefers to meet and engage the communities he serves face-to-face and meet residents where they are most comfortable.

“He’s a pretty remarkable person and has a remarkable career,” Nicklas said. “We’re looking forward to having him on board.”

During his introduction of Byrd on Monday, Nicklas said following a “robust social justice movement” this past summer, the city attempted to reorient the police chief search with a citizen-led search committee to help pick a candidate who met the qualifications for the new direction of the department. The search was whittled down from 27 candidates, and Nicklas said the search committee’s unanimous recommendation was Byrd during their Thursday meeting.

“Wow, thank you,” Byrd said to a standing ovation, expressing gratitude to the city for taking a chance on him. “This is an extremely important position to hold. The responsibility and the power that you have at your fingertips as a law enforcement officer is extremely great. And I don’t take that lightly.”

The City Council also gave their unanimous blessing for Byrd’s appointment during the Monday meeting, though no vote was required, Nicklas said.

According to Byrd’s Feb. 4 cover letter for the position obtained by the Daily Chronicle, he was raised on Chicago’s south side and attended school in the city’s Englewood neighborhood. In his application, Byrd wrote he started his law enforcement career at 22 years old, working the midnight shift on the west side of Chicago – one of the highest crime areas in the world.

“I patrolled aggressively,” Byrd wrote in the application letter. “However, I was impartial to the inadvertent violator, and I never used my position of power outside of the perimeters set by my department.”

Byrd, 54, said Monday he always felt the calling to be a police officer since he was a young child, sharing an anecdote about how his mother told people he would cry as a little boy if they attempted to take off a toy police badge he’d always wear while out and about. While he considers himself “a cop’s cop,” Byrd said he is accepting of all cultures and sexual orientations and expects officers working for him to follow suit, to go beyond just tolerance for those groups.

“We’re not looking for tolerance – we’re looking for accepting,” Byrd said. “And that’s what we need, acceptance, and I think DeKalb is doing an amazing job with the programs that they have in place to engage the community and I’m here to act as a force multiplier for that.”

[ Photos: Illinois State Police Col. David Byrd selected as DeKalb’s next police chief ]

According to his resume, Byrd began his career with the state police in 1989, and throughout the next 31 years moved up in ranks from state trooper to district commander in Chicago, then as a major commander to the Northern Region overseeing 600 personnel, and was promoted to deputy director Aug. 1, overseeing more than 1,200 law enforcement personnel.

The DeKalb Police Department has a sworn staff of about 65, according to city budget documents, and is currently undergoing a restructure to prioritize community-led policing.

Byrd also served from 2008 to 2012 as a master sergeant for the ISP’s Violent Crime Initiative Unit, where he led a team of 16. A father of three, whom he counts as his “greatest accomplishment,” according to his cover letter, Byrd also credited his childhood and mother as critical to his personal and professional mindset.

“I was raised in a single parent home, by a loving mother who taught me to treat people the way you would like to be treated, to be fair to anyone you encounter, and to be humble with your accomplishments,” Byrd wrote.

John Walker – who is a long-time resident of DeKalb, a youth mentor and a member of the city’s Human Relations Commission – was one of the search committee members to speak during the Monday meeting. He said the 26 other applicants for the position would have made great police chiefs elsewhere, but he and the rest of the committee had a good feeling about Byrd as someone who wouldn’t just swoop right in as a hero to immediately fix all of the city’s problems but would bring his ‘stern yet loving’ nature to the job.

Walker said it was Byrd’s cover letter that got most committee members to take notice of him as the preferred candidate – specifically about how he considered fatherhood to be his best accomplishment and how growing up without a father motivated him to be the best one he could be.

“That means a lot, you know,” an emotional Walker said to Byrd. “That’s one of the reasons why I fought for you.”

Retired Sycamore Police Chief Don Thomas said Byrd’s resume was “impeccable” and “incredible,” noting that he also knew of Byrd’s good reputation ahead of time. But what really sold Thomas on Byrd was the several interviews with him, Thomas said.

“This man will be a leader for the city,” Thomas said. “This man would be the kind of leader that I wish I had worked for.”

As someone who worked under five police chiefs in his four-decade law enforcement career – “some good, some not as good,” he said – Thomas said to Byrd “it would’ve been an honor to serve with you or under you.”

Nicklas confirmed that Byrd will be the city’s first police chief of color.

Byrd’s listed address is currently in Bolingbrook, Illinois. According to a March 6 offer letter to Byrd from the city, also obtained by the Daily Chronicle, Byrd would have 15 months to move within the city’s corporate limits and the city will pay for moving expenses directly to the moving company.

Byrd will undergo performance evaluations after six months and a year of employment to assess job performance, according to the city’s offer letter to Byrd. The offered pay rate was $150,000 and the city manager would be Byrd’s immediate supervisor.

“Assuming a start date of May 1, and allowing for zero accrual from Jan. 1 through April 30, 2021, you will receive 13 days (104 hours) in 2021, not counting paid holidays,” Nicklas wrote in the offer letter to Byrd.

Nicklas confirmed after the meeting Byrd could start earlier, but the latest start date for the new top cop will be May 1.

The update comes after city officials confirmed in late February the search for DeKalb’s next top cop was down to two final candidates.

Former Police Chief Gene Lowery retired in May 2019, and Deputy Chief John Petragallo stepped in as interim after that. However, Petragallo left the department in June 2020, retiring to pursue a career change.

DeKalb Acting Police Chief Bob Redel, who headed up the department’s detective bureau, was selected in June 2020 to fill the interim role. Redel previously confirmed he applied for the permanent chief position, though neither Nicklas nor Redel confirmed whether the current acting chief was one of the final two candidates.

Nicklas said during the Monday meeting Redel is a ‘unique blend of fierce dedication, keen intelligence, honesty, pragmatism and heart.’ He said Redel’s knowledge of the community, department and the times helped guide the department through 10 months of sweeping institutional reform, including the rollout of body cameras, new training goals and reconfiguring department divisions to bring more resources for community policing, wellness and behavioral health.

“I have worked closely with Bob and I have been in a unique position to gauge his character, as well as his work product,” Nicklas said. “We are so very fortunate to have him on board. Dave Byrd will find him to be a creative and earnest partner as he takes the reins.”

Redel confirmed Monday after the meeting he was not one of the final two candidates for the position. He said he was disappointed that he didn’t get the position, but Byrd is a great candidate for the job and came highly recommended.

“I think he’s going to do great things here and I’m excited to work for him,” Redel said.

Redel said he believes a lot of good changes are being made in the department. He said he’s looking for excitement from the new chief and the rest of the officers.

“You know, the guys just want to do their best,” Redel said. “So to have another great leader is just another positive for DeKalb and it’s a positive for the department.”

• This story was updated Monday to include additional comment from new DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd, members of the selection committee and DeKalb Acting Police Chief Bob Redel.