Evanston Police Chief Schenita Stewart spoke at a virtual community meeting Wednesday, presented by the League of Women Voters and the NAACP. Stewart addressed questions from moderator and LWV member Helen Gagel about her time in office, allegations of racism in the Evanston Police Department, community policing and police approaches to mental health crises. The.
City Council swore in Schenita Stewart as Evanston’s first permanent woman police chief at its Monday meeting. Evanston Police Department members and residents packed the council chambers, erupting in a standing ovation after Stewart was sworn in by Mayor Daniel Biss. Stewart most recently served as the deputy chief of police for the East Dundee.
Three finalists for Evanston Police Department’s next chief discussed staffing shortages, community-centered policing and crime reduction at a Thursday forum. The finalists, Migdalia Bulnes, Joshua Hunt and Schenita Stewart, answered questions submitted by residents. Sol Anderson, president and CEO of the Evanston Community Foundation, moderated the event. The next chief will be the department’s fourth.
Evanston residents said they hope to see responsiveness, empathy, approachability and community engagement as key traits of the new Evanston police chief at a Wednesday Police Chief Town Hallas the role is set to be filled in the coming weeks. The event, which was held at the Robert Crown Community Center, was hosted by the.
Last year, Evanston Police Department faced an unusually high number of resignations and multiple chief turnovers. For police personnel and city leaders, these changes renewed discussions about EPD’s scope and capabilities. EPD has 27 officer vacancies, according to Cmdr. Ryan Glew, although the city budgeted for 154 officers in 2021, its lowest level since 1993..