Maj. Lillie Parker has had a history-making career since she joined the Des Moines Police Department in 1999. In 2009, she became the first Black woman promoted to the rank of sergeant in the department’s history. Six years later she became the first Black woman to be a DMPD lieutenant. Two more firsts followed — in 2020, she was promoted to captain and then in 2022, she achieved her current rank of major. Parker currently oversees executive projects for the department.
“I want little girls to see me and see that Black women can have a career in law enforcement,” Parker said in 2022.
DMPD featured Parker and that quote in a Black History Month post on its Facebook page on Feb. 18 that called the major a “community-oriented and caring leader.”
So perhaps it isn’t surprising that when the Des Moines Civil Service Commission examined the applicants to replace retiring DMPD Chief Dana Wingert, Parker was ranked as the top choice among the eight finalists the commission forwarded to City Manager Scott Sanders, the Des Moines Register reported Wednesday.
Parker, however, was not one of the two finalists for DMPD chief, the city announced on Sept. 26.
“While the Civil Service review is part of the hiring process, it is the beginning of the exercise that leads to the list of candidates for which the hiring manager can choose from,” Sanders said in a statement to the Register. “The finalists were selected following the first round of interviews with myself, Assistant City Manager Malcolm Hankins, and Assistant City Manager Jen Schulte.“
Sanders and two assistant city managers selected Commander Joshua Wallace of the Chicago Police Department, who was ranked third by the Civil Service Service Commission, and Maj. Michael McTaggart of the DMPD, who was ranked seventh out of the eight recommended candidates.
Wallace is “the Commander of the Criminal Network Group – Bureau of Counterterrorism for the Chicago Police Department,” the city’s news release said. He has been a Chicago PD officer for over two decades.
On Wednesday, the Register also reported that Wallace declared bankruptcy in February.
“According to his court petition, Wallace has failed to pay taxes, student loan debts and tens of thousands of dollars in credit card bills,” the Register said. “Wallace, 50, reported almost no money in the bank, while earning about $184,000 last year.”
The Register also pointed to a September 2023 Chicago Sun-Times story that reported Wallace, in his capacity as a CPD officer, “has been named in at least six lawsuits totaling $486,000.”
“The largest and most recent settlement stemmed from a federal lawsuit filed by Samuel Brown, Deangelo Adams and Ernest Smith, who claimed they were beaten and falsely arrested during a family gathering in Auburn Gresham in March 2013,” the Sun-Times said.
The Sun-Times noted that as of September 2023, there had been “at least 45 complaints” filed against Wallace. “None have been sustained,” the paper wrote.
The Register reported it “sent detailed questions about Wallace’s bankruptcy filing to Sanders. He declined to say whether he knew Wallace filed for bankruptcy this year or that the commander had been the subject of lawsuits and several civilian complaints in Chicago.”
Sanders responded with a written statement that said, in part, “City of Des Moines recruitment protocols, including for the selection of the Chief of Police, give consideration to background information that will impact the individual’s ability to successfully perform the duties of their job.”
Following the publication of the Register story about Wallace’s bankruptcy, the city issued a statement explaining that federal law prohibits government agencies from refusing to employ someone because they have declared bankruptcy. The city’s statement said both finalists for the police chief position have “extraordinary applicable experience.”
The other candidate, DMPD Maj. Michael McTaggart is in charge of the department’s operations division. He joined the DMPD in 1999, the same year Maj. Parker did. McTaggart was promoted to sergeant in 2011 (two years after Parker reached that rank). He was promoted to lieutenant in 2015, captain in 2020 and major in 2022.
According to the Register, McTaggart was “among the Des Moines police officers named in a lawsuit involving the arrests of six protesters during the summer of 2020.”
The city of Des Moines settled that lawsuit in September for $800,000. That is the largest amount the city has paid to settle lawsuits against the police for their actions during the 2020 protests that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
At the time of the settlement, the Register noted the city agreed to the $800,000 payout “one day after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision largely affirming” a federal district judge’s ruling “that many of the officers facing suit were not entitled to qualified immunity.”
McTaggart has denied engaging in any inappropriate behavior related to the arrest of the six protesters.
City Manager Sanders will make the final selection of who will be Des Moines next chief of police. His selection will be submitted to the Des Moines City Council who must approve the choice.
Commander Wallace and Maj. McTaggart are scheduled to have their final interviews with Sanders and the city council on Thursday. Those meetings are not open to the public.
