Brooklyn Center police chief retiring after taking job in post-Daunte Wright killing turmoil

Brooklyn Center's police chief announced his retirement Sunday night, roughly 15 months after taking the job in the Twin Cities suburb that was rocked after one of the department's officers fatally shot Daunte Wright two and a half years ago.

Kellace McDaniel, 56, assumed the post on June 27, 2022, and his departure will take effect on Jan. 31, the city disclosed in a statement.

The statement praised McDaniel for "rebuilding the Police Department's patrol division, as well as maintaining the support staff necessary to carry out the city's mission."

Since taking the job, the statement continued, McDaniel has overseen the swearing-in of more than a dozen new officers.

"Furthermore," the statement read, "he has been instrumental in enhancing the Police Department's community engagement efforts and promoting the principles of community policing that lie at the heart of the city's mission."

Before McDaniel took over the top job, the city went without a chief starting in April 2021, when Tim Gannon resigned following Wright's killing by officer Kimberly Potter. The shooting death sparked protests and calls for reform and led to departures by many officers.

Potter, who is white, was found guilty of manslaughter in December 2021 for fatally shooting Wright, who was Black. She was imprisoned for 16 months until her release in April.

Brooklyn Center tapped McDaniel for chief after hiring Twin Cities-based DRI Consulting to conduct a national search for candidates. Over a six-month period, the city conducted surveys, focus groups, interview panels and a community session involving more than 200 participants who provided feedback that leaders said was taken into account.

McDaniel's arrival came as the city moved to remake its Police Department. In 2021, the City Council passed reforms that included using social workers and other trained professionals to respond to medical, mental health and social needs calls that don't require police.

The reforms, known as the Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Act, also prohibit police from making arrests for low-level offenses and require the city to use unarmed civilians to handle minor traffic violations. The reforms would establish a new city department to oversee public safety.

Before becoming Brooklyn Center's police chief, McDaniel was a lieutenant in the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, where he supervised 57 deputies in the court services division. During his 13-year career there, he also worked in specialty areas including community engagement, homeland security, investigations, the jail, narcotics and the Violent Offender Task Force. He also helped provide security for two U.S. presidential inaugurations.

Star Tribune staff writer Tim Harlow contributed to this report.