MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Continuity in leadership is what Interim Police Director Mike Rallings says he can bring to the job as permanent police director of Memphis.
“When you start talking about continuity of leadership, I know the officers. Half of them I was involved in training them. I have commanded uniform patrol, special operations,” said Rallings.
In the months since Rallings has been filling in at the top, there has also been a surge in the number of homicides with the city currently sitting at 79 and counting.
“One of our goals was to get all our numbers in the green. We had some challenges from January to February. Obviously, we are constantly working on homicide and all the other violent crime, but again, it’s one step at a time,” said Rallings.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland asked Rallings to apply for the permanent job.
No word on who he will be up against.
The city hired a firm to do a nationwide search, but no one would say who they’ve talked to about the job.
“The search firm we have has reached out and tried to recruit some folks and I am very confident we will end up with a very good police director,” says Mayor Strickland.
In fact, the job opening wasn’t even posted until last Friday.
We asked the Mayor why it took so long since the search firm was hired shortly after Toney Armstrong resigned in January.
“I said from the beginning we would have a police director by July or August and we are still on that time frame,” said Strickland.
“I am going to apply and we will see what happens,” said Rallings.
We asked Rallings how he would be able to serve as the director and still be in the DROP Program, which he was to take in 2018.
He said there are options, including going under contract or freezing the drop for a few years.
