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Peoria Police Chief Marion To Retire Next Month

Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion III.
Dana Vollmer / WCBU
Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion III.

Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion III is retiring next month.

Marion has been with the Peoria Police Department for 26 years. Law enforcement careers are a family tradition. His grandfather, Frank Smith, was the Bellevue police chief. And Marion's father was a Peoria patrolman for three decades before his 2009 retirement from the department.

“I feel the Department is moving in the right direction. We are ahead of many agencies throughout the country in our policies/procedures, technology and training," said Marion in a prepared statement on Monday.

During Marion's tenure, the Peoria Police Department rolled out body cameras, an officer wellness program, and expanded the resident officer program.

Marion was promoted to the top job by City Manager Patrick Urich in November 2018, after the resignation of then-Chief Jerry Mitchell, following the revelation of his inappropriate relationship with a subordinate employee.

Marion's last day on the job is Jan. 22, 2021. Assistant Chief Doug Theobald will serve as interim police chief while the City of Peoria conducts a nationwide search for Marion's replacement.

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Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.

Tim Shelley is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.