David Roddy’s accomplishments over a 26-year career in law enforcement don’t need my praise. His achievements speak for themselves.
So when I saw that Roddy is retiring from the Chattanooga Police Department after serving as chief for four years, it gave me pause.
Call me a cynic if you want, but after we ask who the next chief will be, maybe we should be wondering if we should have seen this coming. Perhaps this unexpected announcement shouldn’t have been all that unexpected.
Think back when then-mayoral candidate Tim Kelly “reaffirmed” his support of Roddy during the heated runoff race against Kim White in the days after a city council candidate said publicly that Kelly intended to replace Roddy with a Black woman.
Oh, there was quite the political backtracking when news outlets reported on that conversation. But a lot of Kelly’s runoff momentum that carried him into the mayor’s office came from the support of Black political leaders and influencers.