Mayor Walsh appoints William B. Evans Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, Superintendent William Gross named first African-American Chief in Department History

Today, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced that he will appoint Interim Police Commissioner William B. Evans as Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, and Superintendent William Gross as Superintendent in Chief of the Boston Police Department.

“Commissioner Evans shares my belief that we all must work together – in the community, across departments, and with state and federal partners – to build collaborations to attack the root causes of violence and make sure everyone feels safe in our city,” said Mayor Walsh. “He understands that we can’t just react to crime – we must work together to prevent it from happening in the first place.”

Commissioner Evans is a 33-year veteran of the Boston Police Department and has held leadership roles within the Department for several years. Evans has had notable roles in the successful, peaceful handling of the 70-day occupation of Dewey Square by Occupy Boston, the City’s response in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, and the capture of alleged terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

William Evans joined the ranks of the Boston Police Department as a patrol officer in 1982 and rose through the ranks becoming Captain of area D-4 in 2006, a post that brought him in close contact with religious leaders, community groups, and business owners and most recently to the management team as Superintendent of the Bureau of Field Services. Commissioner Evans is a 2008 graduate of Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and recently completed a certificate program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government and participated in the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, John F. Kennedy School of Government/Harvard School of Public Health as well as National Post-Graduate School & U.S.  Department of Homeland Security, Executive Leaders’ Program.

"I’ve known Chief Gross for many years, going back to the early days of my career as a state representative in Dorchester,” said Mayor Walsh. “I know his deep ties to our community and broad experience give him a uniquely qualified perspective on addressing violence in Boston’s neighborhoods.”

William Gross is a 28-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. As a Patrol Officer he spent many years in the Gang Unit and Drug Control Unit, as well as serving as an Academy Instructor.  He rose through the ranks, achieving the ranks of Sergeant and Sergeant Detective, and was promoted to Deputy Superintendent in 2008, where he became a member of the Command Staff of the Department. As Deputy Superintendent, Gross served as the Commander of Zone 2, which is comprised of Area B-2 Roxbury & Mission Hill, Area B-3 Mattapan, Area C-11 Dorchester and Area C-6 South Boston. In this role, he coordinated with District Captains in their development of strategies to address crime trends, and attended community meetings to address specific neighborhood crime concerns. 

In 2010 Deputy Superintendent Gross became the commander of the Field Support Division, which included command over the Youth Violence Strike Force (Gang Unit) and the School Police Unit.  In 2012 he was promoted to Superintendent, Night Commander, responsible for oversight of all police responses to incidents on a city-wide basis in the evening hours. Throughout his career, Chief Gross has maintained a strong connection with the community, and has been awarded numerous awards for bravery, meritorious service, and community partnership