In filling one of Boston’s most gaping holes, Mayor Marty Walsh will appoint William B. Evans as Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department. The role was previously occupied by Ed Davis who, with unwavering commitment to Boston, helped navigate the city through one of the most trying and tragic catastrophes back in April when two explosions detonated on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
In fact Evans was instrumental during the time of the Boston Marathon bombings, helping to apprehend the primary suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, after orchestrating the initial response.
“Commissioner Evans has been an exceptional leader to the Boston Police Department, and public safety is one of my biggest priorities,” stated Mayor Walsh. “Commissioner Evans has been an invaluable resource to me during this transition period, and I know that his expertise and governance of the Police Department will be a key component to my Administration.”
Commissioner Evans boasts over 30 years of police experience, having held leadership roles within the department during much of that time.
Joining the Police force in 1982, Bill Evans started his career as a patrol cop before rising through the ranks to become the superintendent of the Boston Police Department’s Uniformed Branch, a position in which he oversaw the deployment and implementation of at least 1,800 officers.
Continued the Mayor, “I said many times on the campaign trail that my first meeting would be about public safety. I believe this, and the permanent appointment of Commissioner Evans, a proven, effective leader, shows my commitment to facing the issue.”
According to Walsh’s press secretary, Evans graduated in 2008 from “Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and recently completed a certificate program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.”
As noted by Suffolk University, where Evans enrolled before pursuing a higher education at Harvard, he aptly took a natural liking to long-distance running and marathons, the first of which he ran in 1989 finishing at “2:53, a time that places him in the top 2 percent of all marathoners.”
He subsequently ran 44 marathons across the globe, including 18 in Boston, an ironic twist to a storied career on the force and hitting the pavement given his service in helping to clot the pain and suffering of the 2013 Boston Marathon.
A formal announcement will take place on Thursday, January 9, upon which he’ll assume the duties of Police Commissioner until further notice.
