A recent shooting at a local gas station is the latest in a string of violent crime that’s been plaguing the Tallahassee area, and the city’s newest police chief is weighing in.
It’s been five months since Michael DeLeo assumed his new role as head of Tallahassee's Police department. In that time, he says he’s continuing to meet with different groups and residents in the community. He says he’s also been keeping busy with evaluating the police department as it continues to transition.
“We’ve had some retirements here at the department. So, we’re trying to get the Command Staff positions filled out so we can really take a team approach to moving the department forward in the future,” said DeLeo, following a Wednesday event.
In addition, he says he’s made violent crime a priority with the recent events that have occurred in the last week or two.
“Last Monday, we had the homicide, the officer-involved shooting, and then later on in the week, we had the home invasion robbery where the suspect was shot and killed by the homeowner,” added DeLeo.
Police are also investigating a Wednesday night shooting at a gas station on Tharpe Street that left at least one person injured. And, DeLeo says he’s working with the department to come up with a collaborative approach to make Tallahassee safer.
“I think events like that bring it back to a forefront. We take a lot of things for granted and our safety for granted, but we need to be vigilant and make sure from a police department perspective that we’re putting our resources in the right place and making sure we can do as much we can for prevention education on the front end and then make sure we have the right resources in place to respond and then conduct follow-up investigations,” said DeLeo.
DeLeo says as he continues to work toward an approach, a formal town hall may not be out of the question.
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