Thomas MacMillan File Photo
Wheeler (right) with Chief Limon.
As the police department wrestles with a host of controversies, it’s losing yet another assistant chief.
Assistant Chief Thomas Wheeler is leaving after less than a year in the post. He was one of three Chicago cops who came here last year to take over the department. One, Frank Limon, is the current chief. Wheeler and Tobin Hensgen are the assistants. The three were recently the subject of a no-confidence vote by the police union.
The announcement of Wheeler’s departure is scheduled for Tuesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision. He is to leave the job officially on March 10.
His portfolio was focused on improving the city’s detective division, including increasing the training that members receive. He succeeded in helping to increase the clearance rate on murders.
Wheeler could not be immediately reached for comment Friday morning.
Another assistant chief, Ariel Melendez, recently retired under a cloud of controversy.
The remaining assistant chief, Hensgen, said Friday, “I have no plans to leave the department.” Hensgen and Wheeler started work in New Haven last June.
The department has four budgeted positions for assistant chiefs. Three will soon be vacant. Chief Limon said this week that he wants all four positions filled.
There was no word Friday about who might fill Wheeler’s slot. The in-house pool is small.