Elk Grove promotes deputy chief to head police department
Elk Grove Village is promoting from within for its new chief of police.
Effective Thursday, Charles Walsh will oversee operations of the village's police department, which has 90 sworn officers and 23 civilian staff members.
Walsh, a deputy chief for the last four years, has worked his way up through the ranks, starting as a patrol officer in April 1991.
He replaces longtime Chief Stephen Schmidt, whose last day is Wednesday after 17 years as chief and a total of 41 years with the Elk Grove Village Police Department.
Mayor Craig Johnson appointed Walsh to the position, and will formally swear him in at the next village board meeting Dec. 13.
"Chuck has big shoes to fill with the retirement of longtime Chief Schmidt," Johnson said in a news release. "However, Chuck has everything that we were looking for in our future chief: He is highly educated, has strong moral integrity, has tremendous experience in the law enforcement community, and he knows the Elk Grove community well from his 25 years of service in the Elk Grove Police Department."
Walsh has been a deputy chief since 2011, overseeing criminal and juvenile investigations, evidence and records sections, crime prevention, police accreditation, internal affairs and the Citizen Emergency Response Team.
He previously served as a department commander, during which time he supervised the afternoon patrol shift, implemented the police in-car video system, and developed the village adjudication system.
Over the course of his career, Walsh has also been a sergeant, crime prevention officer, planning and research officer, field evidence technician, field training officer and community policing officer.
He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and was honorably discharged as a sergeant after serving in Texas, Montana, and an overseas tour of duty in Korea.