As Mayor Kasim Reed prepares to select a new police chief, he hosts a town hall meeting with the three finalists for the job — Dr. Cedric L. Alexander, federal security director for the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; City of Atlanta Interim Police Chief George N. Turner; and Louisville Police Chief Robert Crump White. The mayor begins with a brief overview of their qualifications. Deidra Dukes of Fox 5 and Bill Nigut, a former political reporter who now heads the Anti-Defamation League’s efforts in the South, ask questions of the three finalists. Dukes and Nigut also ask Alexander, Turner and White questions submitted by residents.
Mayor Kasim Reed was raised in Atlanta’s Cascade community. He was educated in Fulton County's public schools where he graduated from Utoy Springs Elementary School and Westwood High School (now Westlake High School). From there, he went on to Howard University, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. Kasim was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1998 as State Representative for District 52. He was re-elected in 2000, winning seventy-seven percent (77%) of all votes cast. In the House, he served two terms as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Education Committee and Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee.
Deidra Dukes is reporter and anchor for FOX 5 in Atlanta.
Bill Nigut is the Southeast Regional Director of Anti-Defamation League. Formerly, Bill was a political reporter for WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Dr. Cedric L. Alexander is head of the Transportation Security Administration for the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. Alexander began his law enforcement career in the Sheriff’s Department of Leon and then Orange County, Florida before joining the Miami-Dade Police Department as a sworn officer of the Detective Bureau. He spent five years as an assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center providing senior level administrative and clinical leadership over mental health services in the Department of Psychiatry. He then joined the Rochester Police Department as first a Deputy Chief and then Chief of Police. He served as a Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services before joining the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration and leading federal security oversight at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport. Alexander received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from St. Thomas University and holds a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from Wright State University.
An Atlanta native, Turner has more than 28 years of law enforcement experience with the City’s police department, including work as a family and youth services section police major, zone commander, human resources commander, police deputy chief, and now Interim Chief of Police. Turner is experienced in all phases of law enforcement including, administration, investigations, human resources, policy development, operations, support services, and logistical management. Since his appointment as Interim Chief in January, overall crime in Atlanta is down about 20 percent compared to last year. Turner also has proven success in community-oriented policing, strategic thinking and crisis management. Turner holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice from St. Leo University and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University.
White has four decades of law enforcement experience. He has served as a Cadet, Captain, Inspector/Major, Commander, and has experience as a Police Chief in two cities: Louisville, Kentucky and Greensboro, North Carolina. White was the Assistant Chief of Police in Washington D.C. He is experienced in departmental reorganization, merging departments, strategic budget administration, crime reduction, program development (e.g.: Louisville Metro Police Foundation), police development, logistical management and policy development. As police chief of three large police agencies, White has a strong track record of thinking strategically, initiating programs focused on improving the quality of life for residents, and developing efficiency standards to ensure that resident concerns and complaints are handled appropriately. White received his Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration summa cum laude from the University of the District of Columbia and earned a Master of Science in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University.