Cedric Alexander officially began work as Minneapolis' first community safety commissioner after a swearing-in ceremony Monday morning.
"As we move forward, I want everyone to think very collectively about what works well and what it is that we've got to do to work better," Alexander said during the ceremony, which was held in City Hall and streamed on the city's YouTube channel.
Alexander, who reports to Mayor Jacob Frey, now has responsibility for supervising the leaders of the city's police, fire, 911, emergency management and violence prevention programs. The city's elected leaders are writing ordinances that, if approved, would eventually combine those programs into a single Office of Community Safety.
In the interim, Frey has signed an executive order designating Alexander as the person responsible for helping him supervise safety programs and instructing him to work with other city leaders to design the new office.
Frey nominated Alexander, a law enforcement veteran with a doctorate in psychology, for the position, and the City Council signed off last week.
"This day going forward, you're going to see public safety operate in a very different way," Alexander said during the swearing-in ceremony.
He told the people in attendance: "I need your help. Our public safety entities need your help … We have to do this together."
