New Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon affirmed his dedication to the city and commitment to transparency and accountability in taking his oath of office Friday at City Hall.
“The community deserves a police department that communicates openly, acts with integrity, and earns the trust through its actions,” Dixon said during his 20-minute swearing-in ceremony in front of family, friends and colleagues that was followed by a reception at police headquarters.
“We will continue building a diverse, professional, state of the art police department that reflects and serves every neighborhood in our city. We will remain focused on reducing violent crime, making our streets safer for every resident, every family, and every child in Peoria," he said.
Dixon, a Peoria native who brings more than 25 years of experience with the department into his leadership role, was promoted to the top spot following the retirement of former Chief Eric Echevarria.
“It’s indescribable how much it meant to me, when I was announced the city’s next police chief, the amount of encouragement and support I received from my hometown community,” said Dixon. “I don’t take it for granted. I’ll work every day to earn the trust that you’ve placed in me.”
City Manager Patrick Urich, who chose to promote Dixon instead of conducting a broad search for a replacement, said the new chief is well aware of the challenges within Peoria’s neighborhoods and the responsibility of guiding the city’s officers.
“Chief Dixon is a leader of proven integrity, deep experience, and a clear vision for the future,” said Urich. “He understands that public safety is built on a foundation of collaboration, accountability, strong community relationships.”
Between taking his oath of office in front of City Clerk Stefanie Tarr and having his new badge pinned by his wife Meg, Dixon thanked his family for their continued support amid the challenges of his law enforcement career, and credited Echevarria for his mentorship.
“I’ve learned so much under his leadership these last five years. I will miss the great times and the laughs we’ve had together. I will never forget the tough times. Our friendship is forever,” said Dixon, vowing to strengthening the police department’s connection to the community in working together to deter crime and protect citizens.
“Public safety is about more than enforcement alone. It’s about relationships, it’s about trust and it’s about service,” he said. “That’s why our community service and our community engagement will remain at the heart of our mission. We will continue listening, partnering, and working together to create a safer and stronger city for everyone.”
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Dixon discussed some of his top goals and priorities as he takes over leadership of the department.
“There’s no day off. I don’t know what Day Three looks like, but I know what Days One and Two look like, and it’s work,” he said. “My overall goal is to have zero homicides in this city. That’s always the top goal, and that’s going to be my focus from Day One: zero homicides.”
Dixon also said he’s developing some initiatives to address juvenile crime, but he wasn’t yet ready to announce them.
“I don’t want to push it out just yet, but those will be coming,” he said. “But I think we have to work hard to reach out to our youth in this city. ... We’ve got 15,000-plus students in our school system, and we don’t have a problem with 15,000 kids in our city.
“They need to have a voice. They know best what the issues are, so we need to make sure we have those connections and we need to make sure that there’s lines of communication with our youth.”
