New Police Chief Will Answer Community Questions, Discuss His Approach to Policing Wednesday

Oak Park residents will have the opportunity to meet and candidly speak with new Chief of Police Anthony Ambrose Wednesday evening.

From 6-8 p.m. Wednesday in the Council Chamber of Village Hall at 123 Madison St., Ambrose will talk about his new position and his personal, community-oriented approach to policing, according to the Village of Oak Park’s website.

The event will be sponsored by the Community Relations Commission and will focus on Ambrose’s vision for the police department, police training procedures and certification and what community members should do if stopped by the police.

Maybe most important, though, will be the topic of positive community collaboration. Cedric Melton, the Village’s community relations director, will be moderating the discussion, which, the village website points out, “comes in the wake of a series of police shootings across the United States that have in some cases strained relations between police departments and members of the public.”

Ambrose had spent 32 years working in law enforcement before his August promotion and had worked to build relationships among the Oak Park community and its citizens. He first joined the Oak Park Police Force in 1984 as a patrol officer.

“Maintaining open lines of communication between the police department and the residents we serve is at the heart of the community policing approach we follow in Oak Park,” Ambrose said. “I welcome this opportunity to engage in dialogue and foster a mutual understanding about the roles we all can play in keeping our community safe.”

Attendees will have the chance to ask Ambrose their own questions in a Q&A session after the discussion.

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