Police chief reports drops in auto thefts, reviews shootings and praises frontline response that saved a life

The Police Chief briefed the committee on crime trends through June. He said auto thefts and robberies were trending downward compared with recent years, and that nine homicides had occurred this year through June — all nine were reported as solved to date. The department reported 193 illegally possessed guns recovered and 14 fatal overdoses year‑to‑date.

The chief highlighted a July 5 shooting response in which officers moved a critically wounded subject to reach an ambulance in a crowd and provided direct pressure en route. Reading an email from a hospital nurse, the chief said: "Your team needs to know that they saved this young man's life…from the EMS report, it sounded like it was identified by police that the victim had a life‑threatening injury…This was most likely what saved the victim's life." The department said the victim survived and faces a long recovery.

The chief also showed a short, positive clip of officers engaging with youth to underline constructive community moments. Committee members thanked the department for transparency and asked about community education plans; the department said it would explore bringing training demonstrations and engagement events such as K9 demos into community spaces like MLK Park.

No formal committee action was taken on the crime statistics at this meeting.