Screengrab via STL TV
Interim Public Safety Director Dan Isom will take on a new role with Ameren.
Dan Isom has stepped down from his role as interim director of the St. Louis Department of Public Safety after holding the position for two years.
The role is one of the most prominent in city leadership. Isom’s departure kicks off a national search for his replacement, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones announced in a press briefing today.
The city’s public safety director is appointed by the mayor and reports directly to her. Jones says she’s “not sure” if the city will hold a town hall during the search for Isom's permanent replacement as the decision on who will replace Isom is her's alone.
Isom, who previously served as St. Louis’ police chief, will take on a new role with Ameren next month, where he’ll become the utility company’s vice president of safety, security and crisis management.
Charles Coyle, the St. Louis Fire Department’s deputy fire chief and fire marshal, will assume Isom’s role as interim director as the search for Isom’s permanent replacement carries on.
“Chief Coyle will be thoughtful, deliberate, and an effective leader,” Isom says.
Coyle has worked in the city’s fire department since 1978.
In 2007, Coyle, a Black man, sued the city over a racial discrimination claim when Dennis Jenkerson, then a white subordinate, was promoted to fire chief instead of Coyle. A jury later awarded Coyle $350,000. Jenkerson remains the city’s fire chief.
On Tuesday, Coyle said the lawsuit was “in the past.”
“My focus is looking forward and being part of any changes that need to take place in the department and the city,” Coyle says.
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