MICHAEL COX APPOINTED COMMISSIONER OF THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

Mayor Michelle Wu announced the appointment of Roxbury native and former Dorchester resident Michael Cox as the 44th Commissioner of the Boston Police Department. Cox currently serves as the Chief of Police of the Ann Arbor Police Department in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to his appointment to that position in 2019, Cox was a 30-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. He will begin serving in his new role on August 15, 2022.

“Having grown up here, having served in many roles within the Boston Police Department and roles elsewhere, Chief Cox is uniquely positioned to build the public safety infrastructure that Boston deserves,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “He will continue building on the community trust and community policing that our city has led on for decades.”

“I want to thank Mayor Wu for the opportunity to come back home and serve the citizens of Boston,” said Michael Cox, incoming Boston Police Department Commissioner. “The Boston Police Department needs to look like the communities which we serve and include every resident to hear what is important so we can serve better. I took on public service because I wanted to help the public and give back to the communities in which I lived.”

Cox’s appointment follows a six month search spearheaded by the Boston Police Commissioner Search Committee chaired by retired Justice Geraldine Hines of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The other members of the Committee are former Commissioner Ed Davis of the Boston Police Department, Executive Director Abrigal Forrester of Teen Empowerment, Senior Pastor Bishop William E. Dickerson II of Greater Love Tabernacle Church, and Professor of Law and Deputy Director of Research & Policy Jasmine Gonzales Rose of the Center of Anti-Racist Research at Boston University.

The Search Committee’s public engagement process began with two public listening sessions–one on January 20, 2022 and one on January 26, 2022–and a multilingual community survey. The Search Committee also met with community stakeholders to inform the hiring process, including representatives from Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO), representatives from Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston (LLEGO), leadership of the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, and the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, civilian staff, former and current female-identifying officers in the Police Department, youth groups in Boston, members of the Boston City Council, criminal justice and police reform experts, representatives from several immigrant-serving community organizations, members of the former Boston Police Reform Task Force, former Chiefs of Police from Boston and other major U.S. cities, and City representatives from various offices, including the Office of Returning Citizens, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement, and the Office of Black Male Advancement.

Following three months of community listening sessions, the Boston Police Commissioner Search Committee released an application and job description for the position, calling for candidates prepared to “inspire the confidence and trust of Boston’s diverse communities.” The Committee drafted the job description to be a direct reflection of the comments and ideas generated during public and stakeholder listening sessions. Following the release of the job description, the Search Committee worked with the Police Executive Research Forum to assess, vet, and narrow the pool of candidates. After a series of interviews, the Committee recommended finalists to the Mayor, who made the final selection of Michael Cox to be the Commissioner of the Boston Police Department.

"Through our public listening sessions and meetings with a wide variety of community stakeholders, elected officials, academics and representatives of the law enforcement community, we heard our charge loud and clear,” said Justice Geraldine Hines. “This City is ready for a leader of the Boston Police Department who will embrace reform and lead the Department in a way that brings a fresh vision of public safety to Boston's culturally, racially, and economically diverse neighborhoods. I am confident that Michael Cox is the right person for the moment in our city’s history and that he will serve with the utmost integrity."

Cox last served in BPD as the Bureau Chief and Superintendent of the Bureau of Professional Development, overseeing the Boston Police Academy, the Firearms Training Unit, the Police Cadet Unit, Recruit training and in-service training for all sworn Boston Police personnel.

He served a total of 15 years on the Command Staff in a variety of positions. Cox served as the commander of the Operations Division, primarily responsible for the Emergency 9-1-1 Response Services for the City of Boston. In addition, he was previously assigned to the head of Internal Affairs as the Assistant Bureau Chief of Professional Standards, Zone Commander of Area E, and the Commander of the Forensic Division and Assistant Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Investigative Services.

Before his Command Staff assignments at the Boston Police Department, Cox worked as a Sergeant Detective in the Intelligence Unit where he performed Dignitary Protection duties, served as the liaison to the U.S. Secret Service, and as a supervisor assigned to the Joint Terrorist Task Force. At this rank, he also served assignments in the Internal Affairs, Recruit Investigations, and Audit & Review Units. As a Police Officer, Cox worked in Area B-3 until joining the City-wide Anti-Gang Violence Unit. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1995. Cox is a two-time Medal of Honor recipient and received numerous other Commendations and awards while serving in the Boston Police Department.

Cox is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Police Executive Research Forum and holds degrees from Providence College in Business Management, Curry College where he obtained a Master’s in Criminal Justice, and Boston University’s Questrom School of Business where he obtained an MBA.

WATCH: Mary McLeod Bethune Statue Unveiled in National Statuary Hall

It was a historic moment Wednesday, as marble statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune,the founder of Bethune-Cookman University and champion of civil and women’s rights was unveiled in Statuary Hall in our nation's Capitol.

Watch the entire ceremony below:

Malcolm X nominated again for Nebraska Hall of Fame

Fifteen years ago, Omaha native and human rights activist Malcolm X was deemed too controversial to be added to the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

Now supporters are trying again to get him included among recognized Nebraska greats and to have his bust join 26 others in the State Capitol.

JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike, a board member with the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation, submitted one of two nominations to the Nebraska Hall of Fame for the man who was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little. She said he deserves consideration as "one of the greatest and most influential African-Americans in history."

"It’s important for us, the city of Omaha, to have an opportunity to support the legacy of Malcolm’s birth here," she said. "It encourages the rest of the state to know about the true civil rights history of Omaha."

The Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission will hold public hearings in each of the three congressional districts, starting next week, to take testimony about the nominees.

Under state law, to be included in the Hall of Fame, people must have been born in Nebraska, gained prominence while living in Nebraska or have lived in the state and their residence in the state be an important influence on their lives and contributed to their greatness.

In addition, at least 35 years must pass between a person's death and the date he or she is officially named as a member. Lawmakers added the requirement to ensure that a person's accomplishments stood the test of time.

Secondary consideration is given to people involved in "entertainment, athletics or fields of endeavor where interest, publicity, and general recognition may for a time be intense, but where a contribution to society is secondary."

The commission is slated to meet in August to narrow the field of nominees, then decide on Sept. 12 who should become the newest Hall of Fame member. That finalist will be officially inducted in 2025.

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune becomes first African American representing a state at Statuary Hall in DC

Civil Rights icon, educator, author, philanthropist, humanitarian and women's rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune will be honored Wednesday when a statue of her likeness is unveiled at Statuary Hall. Her statue will represent her home state of Florida.

The statue of Dr. Bethune marks the first time in U.S. history that an African American will represent a state in the Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

President Biden nominates Judge Kelley J. Hodge for United States District Court

President Biden is announcing five new federal judicial nominees, all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country — both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

Among those nominees is Judge Kelley J. Hodge who is a candidate for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Kelley B. Hodge is a partner at Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she has worked since 2020. Ms. Hodge was previously Of Counsel at Elliott Greenleaf in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania from 2016 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020. Ms. Hodge was the interim District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia from 2017 to 2018. From 2015 to 2016, she was the Title IX Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the President at the University of Virginia. From 2011 to 2015, she served as the Safe Schools Advocate under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. From 2004 to 2011, she worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Hodge was a public defender in the Richmond, Virginia Public Defender’s Office from 1997 to 2003. Ms. Hodge received her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1996 and B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1993.