Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary and his entire command staff announced their retirement on Tuesday, catching City Hall leadership short and leaving Mayor Lovely Warren to say she had no answers at this time.
Warren announced the news to City Council during what was the first of a series of regularly scheduled meetings between the mayor, the chief and the council. Warren says the chief was not asked to give his resignation. She told a brief news conference later in the afternoon that the city would find a means to move forward.
Retiring or transferring back to former positions are:
Ø Chief LaRon Singletary – announced retirement
Ø Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito – announced retirement
Ø Deputy Chief Mark Mura-returned to previously held rank of captain
Ø Deputy Chief Mark Simmons – returned to previously held rank of lieutenant
Ø Commander Fabian Rivera – announced retirement
Ø Commander Henry Favor – returned to previously held rank of lieutenant
Ø Commander Elena Correia-announced retirement
All are staying on in their current positions until the end of the month.
Singletary announced his retirement less than 18 months after being named chief. His retirement follows six days of unrest in the city that began with the revelation a week ago that Daniel Prude had died after losing consciousness while in police custody, as officers held him to the pavement in March. Mayor Warren then said the chief had informed her that Prude had died of a drug overdose, and she didn’t learn the truth until August.
Demonstrators and other citizens had called for both Chief Singletary and the Mayor to resign. In a statement released on Tuesday, Singletary said he would “not stand idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character.”
Singletary says the greater Rochester community knows his reputation over 20 years of service to the department, and what he stands for. He says the actions he took after being informed of Daniel Prude’s death have been mischaracterized and are not based on facts.