New St. Cloud police chief to be sworn in

William Blair Anderson
William Blair Anderson, the new chief of the St. Cloud Police Department, will be sworn in on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012.
MPR Photo/Conrad Wilson

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The city of St. Cloud is scheduled to swear in its new police chief at 11 a.m. Monday.

William Blair Anderson takes over the department as the city's first African-American chief.

Anderson comes from Carver County, where he was the deputy sheriff.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says Anderson will fill a big role for the community.

"The police chief is somebody that everyone in the community should know," Kleis said. "This is the chief law enforcement official for a city. And public safety is the No. 1 thing that cities are responsible for, making sure that their residents are safe. I need to have somebody that is that person, that spokesperson and the person who runs the department. We have a large department. We're a large regional center."

Anderson takes over for former police chief Dennis Ballantine, who retired earlier this year.

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