Public Safety

Pensacola Police Chief: July 4th Shooting Case Moving Toward Prosecution

Five months into the job, Chief Eric Winstrom says the investigation into the deadliest mass shooting the department has seen is shifting to the courts, and he’s already reviewing use-of-force and pursuit policies.

Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom joined “Rick’s Blog Live” this week for an update on the July 5 downtown shooting and to reflect on his first five months leading the department.

“We’re moving very much past the investigation stage and now moving through to the court phase,” he said of the police investigation of the shooting. “Those individuals who have been charged, they’re entitled to a fair trial, and I don’t want to corrupt that at all, but the detectives did an excellent job.

The Deadliest Shooting the Department Has Seen

Winstrom, a former Chicago police commander, said the scale of the July 5 shooting stood out even to seasoned officers “This incident that happened July 5 with seven people shot is the most individuals shot that I think my entire team has seen in the city of Pensacola.”

• Two lives were lost — one to gunfire, one to suicide. Winstrom said he never wants Pensacola to become numb to gun violence the way he saw other cities become. “We never want to be numb to violence,” he said. “It’s little comfort to PJ Shepherd’s family, to Trevon Bradley’s family. A very dark day for the city.”

Five Months In: A Warmer Welcome Than Expected

Winstrom, who previously led police in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said he expected resistance as an outside hire but instead found strong internal support from day one. “I was a little bit surprised by how easy the transition was, and how everybody was, ‘All right, the new chief’s here. What are the marching orders? Let’s get to it.’”

• The police chief drew several comparisons between his current post and his previous one in Grand Rapids, a city of more than 200,000 on Michigan’s west side. Both cities, he said, punch above their weight as regional hubs.

He said Pensacola has an outsized influence for its size, much like Grand Rapids does as Michigan’s second-largest city, far from Detroit. “Though it’s a little bit smaller of a city, it still kind of has a feeling of—yeah, we’re not a city the size of Chicago, but we have a much oversized influence for the population that we have here. I recognize how important this city is.”

Policy Changes and What’s Ahead

Winstrom said use-of-force and pursuit policies are under active review, and the department has already adjusted its pursuit policy since he arrived. “We want to be a leader.  We don’t want to be catching up with some other police department in the region or in the country.”

• On staffing, seven recruits currently in training will fill vacancies in detective, vice and narcotics, and traffic enforcement roles. “People that live in Pensacola are going to see the level of customer service is going to go up,”

Looking ahead, Winstrom said the department faces budget uncertainty tied to potential state property tax changes but remains confident in city support.

• “We have a very supportive city government, elected officials, which is wonderful. It puts us in a great position,” he said. “Hopefully that’s it for crises. That’s what we want.”