St. Paul mayor picks Axel Henry as city's next police chief
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter stayed within the city to find his pick for police chief. On Tuesday, he nominated Commander Axel Henry.
He was one of five candidates, four of which are currently with the St. Paul Police Department.
Carter used City Hall as a backdrop as he stood with city and community leaders, "to announce and congratulate my selection for police chief St. Paul Police Commander Axel Henry."
Selecting a Police Chief is a monumental task. From the beginning, it was vital this process culminated in a community-led decision. Today, I am proud to name Axel Henry as our next @sppdmn Police Chief. I'm confident he is the right person to keep moving Saint Paul forward. pic.twitter.com/D5Mm1Vne9b
— Mayor Melvin Carter (@MayorCarter) November 1, 2022
Henry has 24 years of experience in law enforcement, joining the department in 1998 after serving three years with the Roseville Police Department. He says he has worked in every department during that time, from patrol officer, to sergeant, commander to senior commander.
Henry said he is proud of his experience in St. Paul as well as his connections to the community.
"I grew up in the Macalester-Groveland area. My father was a professor at Macalester College, so I grew up in St. Paul went to Groveland, then went to Webster Magnet, went to Murray Junior High and then St. Paul Central. And then oddly enough I didn't go that far for college either. I drove down the street to St. Thomas," Henry said.
Henry helped spearhead the departments body-worn camera program. He says he is focused on service and doing meaningful work for a city and its residents.
"I am inspired by the potential of this city and this community and how we operate together," Henry said.
For Henry, working together is key. He hopes to lead the department forward with the help of community.
"We have established really good parameters for community engagement, and I think what we have to do now is we have to go beyond that. We have to evolve to real community connections. It's great that we engage with our community, it's great that our community engages with us, but we are a part of the community, so now we have to start creating those connections," said Henry.
Henry says continuing to build a city that works for all residents is what he believes he and other officers want most. He knows it will take a collaboration and more than one approach to reach that goal.
"You will hear the mayor say this a lot and I couldn't agree with it more -- it's not a this-or-that approach. It's this and that and that and that," Henry said. "We want to keep coming up with different ways to meet the needs of our residents and our city."
The city council will vote on Commander Henry's nomination Nov. 18. He's expected to face little to no opposition from council members and begin his six year term on Nov. 19.
Mayor picks Axel Henry to be city's next PD chief
Mayor Melvin Carter selects Commander Axel Henry as his nominee for Chief of Police in St Paul pic.twitter.com/7BS7U0KGea
— Reg Chapman (@RegChapman) November 1, 2022
5 finalists for St. Paul police chief nearly all internal candidates (Oct. 4)
As of early October, there were five finalists for the police chief position: Dr. Jaqueline Bailey-Davis, Pamela Barragan, Kurtis Hallstrom, Axel Henry, and Stacy Murphy.
Dr. Jacqueline Bailey-Davis became a uniformed officer for Philadelphia Police Department in 1997, and currently serves as Police Staff Inspector in the Standards and Accountability Division and Audits.
Pamela Barragan has been a uniformed officer for SPPD since 1996 and currently serves as Unit Commander for Community Partnership.
Kurtis Hallstrom joined SPPD in 1999. He is currently the Senior Commander responsible for the leadership and management of the Eastern District.
Axel Henry has been with the force since 1998 and is currently the Commander for the Narcotics, Financial Intelligence and Human Trafficking Division.
Stacy Murphy joined SPPD in 2002 and is the Assistant Chief of Police who oversees day-to-day operations of 563 sworn employees, civilian staff and 92 volunteers.
The chief will be appointed for the next six years.
"Selecting a police chief is one of the most critical decisions a community must make," Mayor Melvin Carter previously said. "It's also a blessing to be able to serve a city where our local police department can feed so many strong candidates for chief for our community. That's something we shouldn't take for granted either."
Earlier this year, former chief Todd Axtell stepped out of the role, and Jeremy Ellison has been serving as interim chief. Axtell decided to pursue a career in police consulting with Assistant Chief Robert Thomasser.
"Project Peace" announced in St. Paul with aim to stop crimes before they happen (July 15)
Mayor Melvin Carter in July announced a new investment into an initiative called "Project Peace."
Carter says it's a program that will work to stop crimes before they happen.
"We know that a complex comprehensive public safety also requires coordinated and proactive investments in interventions to reduce the likelihood that something dangerous will happen in the first place," Carter said. "That's why we're so intentional … investing in the wellbeing of our residents making them less likely to either commit or fall victim to a crime."
The money for Project Peace will come from the American Rescue Plan.