TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Police Department will soon be looking for its next police chief.
Chief George Kral announced his retirement Monday on his Twitter account. He will remain in his role until Jan. 9, 2023.
Kral began his career with Toledo police in 1990. He worked in field operations, crime analysis, internal affairs, the detective bureau, planning and research and the records bureau.
Kral was appointed police chief on Jan. 5, 2015. He was named president of the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs in June 2021.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz released the following statement on his Facebook page:
"Chief George Kral has been a truly outstanding public servant during his 32 years of service to our city, and in particular, he has distinguished himself over the past 7 years as one of the best Chiefs of Police in the country.
"I always tell Chief Kral that, in my opinion, being a police chief is the single hardest job in America, and yet Chief Kral has handled the unique pressures of his job with both grace and excellence.
"In particular, the drastically lower amounts of crime and gun violence we have seen in Toledo this year — and in particular over the past 3 months — are a direct result of the efforts he and his team have made to address a national problem with innovative local solutions.
"As I begin to think about the future of the Toledo Police Department and who should be its next leader, I do so knowing that Chief Kral will have impossibly large shoes to fill."
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