What caused Mayor Reeves and Chief Randall break-up?

1. Yesterday, the City of Pensacola announced Eric Randall has stepped down as Chief of Police, effective immediately.

Also, effective immediately, Mayor D.C. Reeves has named Captain Kristin Brown as Acting Chief of the Pensacola Police Department. Acting Chief Brown is a respected 29-year veteran of the department and the longest-tenured captain on the force.

Captain Erik Goss will continue to serve as Acting Deputy Chief while Deputy Chief Kevin Christman is on medical leave.

Promising Hire

In May 2021, Mayor Grover Robinson selected Eric Randall as the next Chief of Police after a nationwide search.

• “We were fortunate to have multiple highly qualified, standout candidates interested in becoming our next Chief of Police, but ultimately, Eric Randall’s experience and vision made him the best fit for the City of Pensacola,” Mayor Grover Robinson said. “We are looking forward to having his leadership and expertise at the Pensacola Police Department, along with his sincere dedication to serving and connecting with the Pensacola community.”

Randall served as the Assistant Chief of Police at Newport News Police Department in Virginia, was selected from a group of three finalists after two rounds of interviews, a one-on-one meeting with Mayor Robinson and a public candidate forum.

• “I am so excited to be selected as the Chief of Police for the Pensacola Police Department. I cannot wait to get back to Pensacola,” Randall said. “It is such an honor to get to come home and serve my community at this capacity.”

During his tenure, Chief Randall advocated for the ShotSpotter technology and lobbied State Rep. Alex Andrade to fund it for PPD and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for three years.

During his tenure, PPD added a precinct at Pensacola State College and created a Community Response Team to interact with those experiencing homelessness throughout the city of Pensacola, with the focus of connecting them to services and resources needed.

Unrest in the Department?

However, it appears Randall had trouble building relationships and support within the Pensacola Police Department. The City has not published the Employment Satisfaction Surveys for 2023 or 2024, but the two previous years showed a sharp decline in job satisfaction in 2021 and 2022:

Chief Eric Randall was the first individual from outside the Pensacola Police Department to serve as police chief in my time living in the Pensacola area and only the second Black police chief.

• The first Black police chief was David Alexander, whose appointment by Mayor Ashton Hayward also upset the rank and file.

Here is the list of Pensacola Police Chiefs over the past 45 years:

The acting chief is Captain Kristin Brown, a 29-year veteran of the department and its longest-tenured captain. Eric Goss is the inside favorite to be chief in the next few years, if not sooner. It will be interesting to see if Mayor D.C. Reeves does a nationwide search.