Rochester will need to find a new police chief. Chief Michael Ciminelli is stepping down to take a different job with the federal government.
Ciminelli, who has been chief since 2014 has accepted a job with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and will retire September 15th.
He previously worked for the DEA and he says he is looking forward to returning to the Washington, D.C. area where his three daughters live.
Mayor Lovely Warren said that Ciminelli has provided strong and steady leadership from the start of her first term.
“Chief Ciminelli served the citizens of Rochester well, from reorganizing our police department from a two-section model to a five-section model, to instituting and launching the largest body-camera program for a city of our size."
Ciminelli says he is pleased with progress made in some areas during his tenure, which he says has been due to a team effort.
“Certainly, we’re looking at now a longer-term decline in violent crime, especially firearm crime and shooting. That needs to continue. I think the reorganization was very near and dear to my heart, and the fact that the mayor wanted to go through this reorganization was one of the main reasons I took the job, which I didn’t originally apply for.”
Warren has named Deputy Police Chief Mark Simmons as the Interim Police Chief effective September 16th. The 38 year old Simmons has been a member of RPD since 2002.
Simmons is a Rochester native.
Warren has strongly encouraged Simmons to apply for the permanent Chief of Police position in what will be a national search to fill that job.
Simmons is a Rochester native and graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School. He notes that his father, who has been a pastor for over 40 years has set a good example for him on how to deal with people.
“Being able to sit down and talk to victims at their darkest hour, to let them know that hey, this is a difficult time you’re going through, but tomorrow will be a brighter day, and the police department is here to protect you and serve you and have you back. and I think that’s a message that most officers generally feel and why they became officers and it’s a message we are going to make sure that we get out to the community," Simmons told WXXI News.
