“A very special city. a very well-respected police department.”
Eric Winstrom was one of 3 finalists for the Pensacola job and during his interview for the position last month, he said he was excited about moving to Florida.
“Very excited about the possibility of moving down here. A lot of people from Michigan now reside in Pensacola. Pensacola is a special place.”
Winstrom is expected to start in Pensacola on March second. He was on the Chicago police force for over 20 years, but he told officials in Pensacola his nearly four years as the Grand Rapids police chief, in particular, qualified him to lead their department.
“Everything that I have been through in Grand Rapids, I have been through a ton of challenges, that experience translates very well. I think it certainly does uniquely qualify me for this.”
Grand Rapids City manager Mark Washington says he will immediately begin searching for a new police chief.He says the city is stronger because of Chief Winstrom.
“My 31 plus years in local government I’ve worked with 9 chiefs and he is, by far, one of the best chiefs I had the ability to work with.”
