Fred Waller

CTL-E-6764 · Person · other · contemporary

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

Fred Waller is a Chicago Police Department veteran who twice served as the department's interim superintendent. Waller spent thirty-four years as a sworn CPD officer, rising to chief of patrol — the department's third-highest rank — before retiring in August 2020. Shortly before that retirement he served a twenty-eight-day suspension for saying, in a command meeting about moving officers out of patrol districts, words to the effect of 'grope me, don't rape me'; Waller apologized for the remark and later said it had been taken out of context. After working in private security, Waller was brought back by Mayor Brandon Johnson to serve as interim superintendent from May 15, 2023, leading the department through the summer while the new Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability conducted the search for a permanent superintendent. He overhauled the department's command staff that September, stayed on as a civilian deputy director in the superintendent's office after Larry Snelling's confirmation, and drew favorable notice from alderpersons for his interim service. Chicago reporting on his return also examined the money: between his civilian salary and his police pension, the Sun-Times calculated combined annual pay and pension of $333,323, and reported criticism of his earlier support for promoting an officer who later resigned amid a Civilian Office of Police Accountability report tying him to the corrupt crew of Sergeant Ronald Watts. When Superintendent Larry Snelling announced his retirement in 2026, Waller was again named interim superintendent pending a permanent search.

Notes

Merged 2026-11-02 from the staged police chiefs packet (website/.build-work/scratch-v114/police/) under the GOV-006 founder gate opened 2026-11-02; the staged record is carried verbatim — no claim upgraded in transit (GOV-004). · Roles as staged: Police leadership — Interim Superintendent, Chicago Police Department (2023; again 2026) · Photo slot: HELD — No rights-clean portrait found on Wikimedia Commons; search results are Chicago architecture and unrelated files.

Sources

• windycityword.com — https://windycityword.com/for-interim-chicago-police-superintendent-fred-waller-stepping-in-to-help-new-mayor-pays-off-in-salary-pension-double-dip/
• chicagoleader.com — https://chicagoleader.com/brandon-johnson-names-cpds-interim-superintendent/?amp=1
• pulptastic.com — https://pulptastic.com/chicago-police-superintendent-to-retire-after-3-years-on-the-job/

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Record CTL-E-6764 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 3 sources · CTL research: PPL-001.
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