The finalist to be the next Ypsilanti Police Chief met the public in a meet and greet event on Thursday night.
Members of the Ypsilanti community gathered at the Riverside Arts Center for a chance to hear from Kirk Moore. He was selected out of four applicants to be the YPD’s next chief. Moore has spent more than 30 years in law enforcement, most recently as a captain in Henderson, Nevada.
He was asked a variety of questions ranging from his plans to address gun violence, the school-to-prison pipeline, homelessness and recruiting officers. Moore presented plans to tackle those issues but said to do that, his first priority is to address the department's morale problem.
“There’s some angst in the organization, there’s some angst in the community. So, the organization and the community, and bridging that gap. That’s really the priority for me.”
Moore, who grew up in New Orleans, comes to Ypsilanti as an outsider, but says he’s learned a lot about the city's people in a short time.
“They embrace the history, but they also want to be a part of Ypsi’s next identity. That was a theme in conversations with people, and I want to be a part of that as well.”
In the coming days, Moore is expected to receive a formal offer and contract negotiations would follow. If he accepts and there are no delays, he could be in uniform sometime in May.
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