Memphis mayor: Rallings is ‘most qualified’ to lead force
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Memphis’ mayor has praised the police department’s newly appointed director Michael Rallings as being the “most qualified candidate in the entire country” to lead the city’s force following a national search.
News outlets report that Mayor Jim Strickland held a news conference Monday to formally announce the appointment of Rallings, who had been serving as the city’s interim police director since February.
The appointment ends a controversial $40,000 national search that netted five other finalists.
Rallings was credited with peacefully ending a Black Lives Matter protest in July that closed the Hernando DeSoto Bridge for hours. His handling of the situation prompted the local chapter of the NAACP and City Council to call for his immediate hiring.
Rallings has been with the department since he joined the police academy in 1990.
