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St. Cloud Police Chief announces retirement

Chief William Blair Anderson was first hired as chief 10 years ago.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson announced his retirement at a press conference on Friday. 

Anderson served the community as Police Chief of St. Cloud Police Department (SCPD) for nearly a decade. St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, who hired Anderson, said doing so was, "one of the best decisions I ever made."

"It's an extremely, extremely demanding job and it requires just a remarkable individual to be around that long," said Mayor Kleis. " Anderson has led, I believe, the best police department in the nation."  

Chief Anderson, who is originally from Detroit, thanked the community for embracing him as an "outsider," when he first stepped into the role. He talked about his emphasis on the service aspect of the job in his time with SCPD.

"One of my few rules is we never strip other human beings of their dignity," said Chief Anderson. "I believe this job should be treated with reverence because of the power we have."

Over the past two years, several high-profile chiefs in Minnesota's major cities have retired, including Medaria Arradondo in Minneapolis, Todd Axtell in St. Paul, Jeff Potts in Bloomington, and Craig Enevoldsen in Brooklyn Park.

Assistant Police Chief Jeff Oxton will take Anderson's place as the new St. Cloud Police Chief after receiving the appointment from Mayor Kleis. Under St. Cloud's strong-mayor system, Kleis does not need council approval for his decision. He told KARE 11 he'll look to choose a new assistant chief to replace Oxton next month. 

Anderson will officially step down from the role in late November. When Oxton takes over, he'll be the first internal candidate hired as St. Cloud Police Chief in more than three decades. 

"We've always continued to grow -- and it's always been pushed, that we will continue to grow as a department," Oxton said. "To grow in learning how to do things right and how to work with the community." 

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