Minneapolis made history Monday morning by swearing in Dr. Cedric Alexander as the city's first ever commissioner of community safety.
The ceremony, which took less than a minute was met with applause inside the City Hall rotunda from a number of City Council members, members from several of the city's public safety departments and Superintendent Drew Evens, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension commissioner, among other leaders. Mayor Jacob Frey tapped Alexander for the position in July.
Alexander is now tasked with overseeing the five departments of public safety: 911, the city fire department, the emergency management office, the police department, and neighborhood safety, formerly known as the Office of Violence Prevention.
His goal is to get all of the departments working together to combat the rise in violent crime in Minneapolis.