WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — FBI statistics show West Palm Beach's homicide rate dropped 29% during the first year of Frank Adderley's first year as police chief.
Some in the Old Northwood Historic neighborhood thought Adderley was just what the city needed when he was hired in 2019.
"Right out of the gate, Chief Adderley was accessible, and he was responsive," said Billy Grotto, the chairman of the Old Northwood Historic Neighborhood Steering Committee.
WPTV contacted him because he said crime was a problem in his neighborhood six years ago.
Grotto said right after Adderley's swearing-in five years ago, more police patrolled Northwood.
He also said police took on drug dealers, culminating with last year's "Operation Blockbuster," which netted 29 arrests in his neighborhood.
"It reassured neighbors that the police department cared about the North End and what was going on in here. It made us feel a lot safer," Grotto said.
Anti-violence advocate Ricky Aiken has a different view.
"I'm not really a big fan of the current administration," said Aiken, the head of Innercity Innovators.
His group is a West Palm Beach nonprofit that works to reduce gun violence and crime among teens in city neighborhoods.
He said Adderley never took suggestions on plans to reduce juvenile crime.
"I've had face-to-face meetings with Chief Adderley to kind of turn him on to some of these approaches that would be effective," Aiken said, "to really reach these young people before they're too deep in a deadly cycle and nothing ever came of it."
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James fired Adderley Tuesday because of what he called "financial improprieties," and referred to a deadly crash in Boynton Beach in July, after a high-speed chase that placed seven officers on administrative leave.
More recently an officer was charged with sexually assaulting a woman after responding to her call to police.
WPTV spent Wednesday calling city officials to see if neighborhood leaders will be consulted in the search for a new chief. We've also called Adderley for the past couple of days after his firing, but he has not returned our calls.
West Palm Beach
