Terrence Cunningham, who this week celebrated his 17th year as Wellesley Police Chief, is leaving the force to take a job at the international group for which he served as a high profile elected official in recent years. Cunningham, who grew up in Wellesley, has been a police officer for more than 30 years.
As President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) over the past year, Cunningham has been a vocal presence on matters ranging from the iPhone/FBI case to police killings and racial issues, and through his work at the IACP has had an opportunity to travel overseas and meet with heads of state.
He really grabbed headlines last month by apologizing on behalf of law enforcement and the IACP for the profession’s “historical mistreatment of communities of color.” Cunningham will now continue his work with the IACP as deputy executive director, focusing on community-police relations, among other things, according to a Boston Globe report.
Locally, Cunningham certainly played his role in fostering good community-police relations, and could always be found hosting residents — including lots of little kids — at the WPD’s annual open house on Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend and taking part at events such as the annual Officer Savage Memorial 5K road race.
