Salem Police Chief Sean Reynolds says 9-11 stands out as the most memorable day of his career. Reynolds who announced Monday he would retire after 27 years with Salem Police reflected back on his career after the city council meeting. He was part of the drug task force on 9-11 and was preparing with officers from around the region to execute search warrants on two homes believed to have meth labs.
“Meth labs were pretty prevalent back then and that was something of high importance. But it seemed so unimportant at the moment when we went ahead and served search warrants, I remember one guy we arrested I said we are going to turn the tv on if you don’t mind, so as we did our search we had a tv on and he had no objections because he wanted to watch it to. So obviously that’s a huge moment in history that will always probably be on the forefront of my mind in my law enforcement career.”
And Reynolds says the alleged police brutality cases that began the same year he became chief in 2014 with the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri began a tumultuous period for policing that continues today.
“Tumultuous time to be a police officer, especially in Illinois. We at Salem have succeeded and worked through it and have a great community to work with so I am blessed to that extent but it has been a rough 8 years to be Chief of Police during probably some of the toughest times in law enforcement.”
Reynolds says that mood has led to major reforms in policing in Illinois that are still being implemented. While some officers are leaving because of
those changes, Reynolds says that did not impact his decision. Reynolds feels he leaves the department in good shape with strong leadership.
Salem City Manager Rex Barbee says they will seek a replacement for Reynolds from both internal candidates and an outside search.
