Brooklyn Center Names Kellace McDaniel As New Chief Of Police
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (WCCO) - Brooklyn Center officials have named Kellace McDaniel as their new chief of police.
McDaniel, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, comes from the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Court Services Division, where he supervised 57 deputies. He's worked in homeland security, the violent offender task force, and community engagement units within the sheriff's office, among other divisions.
The announcement ends a six month national search. The department has been without a chief since April of 2021, when Tim Gannon resigned after former officer Kim Potter shot and killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.
RELATED: 1 Year After Fatal Police Shooting, Daunte Wright's Legacy Celebrated At 'Angelversary'
At his meet and greet, McDaniel emphasized community healing, saying that "part of coming to this community, being a community engagement team advocate, is getting community policing and the community back together."
"It's part of the healing process and we are all trying to heal," he said. "It has been a tough three years for everyone."
His first day will be on Monday, June 27.
Since Wright was shot and killed, his mother has worked with Amity Dimock-Heisler, whose son Kobe was also killed by Brooklyn Center police, to overhaul the city's public safety approach.
Last year, a city resolution named after their sons passed, which promised to have unarmed civilian traffic officials enforce non-moving traffic violations and have trained responders dispatched to mental health calls.
