A 22-year law enforcement veteran from upstate New York has been selected to lead a police department in the state of Georgia. Now, Albany is on the hunt for a new chief of police.
"People wave to us when we're driving in the streets now. People hug me when they see me in the street. It's not me that they're hugging. I just happen to be the face of the department." ~ Steven Krokoff
As much as Albany residents may like their chief of police, they can't keep him: Steven Krokoff is retiring at the end of March to be closer to his extended family and to take a job as chief in Milton, Georgia.
Krokoff was one of the city's youngest chiefs — just 40 when he took the job in July 2010. He joined the Albany Police Department in 1993. The University at Albany grad was promoted to Sergeant in 2000, Detective Sergeant in 2003, and Deputy Chief in June 2008. Krokoff became Acting Chief in September of 2009 after Chief James Tuffey abruptly retired as reports began circulating among Albany Common Council members that Tuffey had made a racial slur.
When he was sworn in, Alice Green, Executive Director at the Center for Law and Justice hailed the newly installed Krokoff as a "people’s chief." "He talks about community all the time. He's committed to the community, he's committed to a partnership with the community. He sees the community as being a part of this whole effort to provide public safety. And he talks about treating people equally. All of the people."
Nevertheless, there have been a few bumps in the road. In March 2013, what started out as a police training exercise ignited community outrage and attracted the attention of the NAACP.
Citizens in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood posted photographs of SWAT teams, fake bloodstains and shell casings on Facebook. The Albany NAACP expressed concern because the incident occurred just a few months after the Newtown shooting, in the neighborhood of the Arbor Hill Elementary School.
Krokoff apologized via email sent to media outlets. Authorities claim residents were notified of the training in advance. Albany police spokesperson Steve Smith deferred comment to the city housing authority : an official said the agency was “inclined to support” the claim.
The incident faded over time, as police under Krokoff stepped up their efforts to de-polarize the community by interacting with citizens at neighborhood levels. At the same time, a concentrated effort was made to make the police department more diverse. "We are seeing much more minority representation, and it's a testament, truthfully, to the people of the city of Albany, because they have gone out there and they have done the scouting for us. They go out there. They find the people that they want to see on their police department, and they send'em to us. It's worked out great."
Mayor Kathy Sheehan also spoke Monday morning at City Hall: "Under Chief Krokoff's leadership, we also have a strategic plan for this department that is vetted annually by our common council and by our public safety committee under the leadership of Council Member Leah Golby, and so we are a very strong position. It was an easy decision for me to turn to Deputy Chief Brendan Cox and ask him to step in as acting chief, when Chief Krokoff retires, because we have seen tremendous leadership from this team."
Saying he wants to be closer to extended family, Krokoff will join the Milton, Georgia police as the city's second police chief, replacing Deborah Harrell, who left for the private sector after nearly eight years on the job.
A search for a new Albany police chief is expected to get under way shortly. Brendan Cox has been named as acting chief effective April 1.
