Embattled Chicago Police Superintendent Resigns After Lightfoot Loss

CHICAGO — Just a day after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot saw her re-election hopes fall short in a Tuesday loss to challengers Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, the city’s police superintendent announced he is resigning.

David Brown, who has been under fire for his handling of Chicago’s issues with violent crime and gun violence, announced on Wednesday that he will leave the department later this month. Brown, who was hired less than three years ago by Lightfoot, said in a statement that he has accepted a job with a personal injury law firm in Texas.

Brown, the former Dallas police chief, will leave his post on March 16, the statement said. Brown said that he will become the Chief Operating Officer of Loncar Lyon Jenkins, which has seven offices in Texas.

He said he will step down in mid-March to allow the new mayor ample time to begin the process of hiring a new police chief in Chicago. Vallas and Brandon will face off in a run-off election on April 4 after Lightfoot became the first Chicago mayor in 34 years to fail to earn a second term.

Lightfoot announced that First Deputy Eric Carter will serve as interim superintendent until Chicago's new mayor is sworn into office.

Both Vallas and Johnson vowed that, if elected, they would fire Brown on their first day in office. Vallas was the top vote-getter in Tuesday's mayoral election, while Lightfoot finished a distant third.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside the brave men and women of the Chicago Police Department,” Brown said in an issued statement. “I will continue to pray that all officers return home to their families safe at the end of their shift. May the Good Lord bless the city of Chicago and the men and women who serve and protect this great city.”

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Lightfoot said she accepted Brown's resignation and did so while commending him for setting a record for illegal gun recoveries in consecutive years and for a double-digit reduction in violent crime in Chicago in 2022.

"I personally want to thank him for his service to our city," Lightfoot said.