After a national search, Yale found its next police chief closer to home.
Current Assistant Chief Ronnell Higgins was tapped to head the Yale Police Department on Wednesday. Higgins, who has been the department’s assistant chief since 2008, will be sworn in on Feb. 4, University President Richard Levin announced in an e-mail to the Yale community Thursday afternoon.
“I am humbled,” Higgins said in an interview with the News. “It is an absolute honor to lead such a great group of men and women at the Yale Police Department."
The search began in early November and Higgins was selected from nearly 100 candidates.
The search’s conclusion was a familiar one for the YPD.
The department’s last national search for chief in 1998 also led to the internal promotion of the YPD’s then-assistant chief, James Perrotti. That search took eight months. Higgins was chosen less than three months after the first advertisement for the position. But even though history indicated Higgins was a front-runner for the position, Yale public safety officials said his selection was not guaranteed.
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