Owens names Mark Rusin next Syracuse police chief as Cecile retires
SPD Deputy Chief of Police Mark Rusin will replace sitting Chief Joe Cecile on Jan. 14, Syracuse Mayor-elect Sharon Owens announced Friday. Rusin will be the department’s youngest leader in over a century. Leanne Rivera | Daily Orange File Photo
Mark Rusin, the Syracuse Police Department’s deputy chief of police, will replace sitting Chief of Police Joe Cecile in the new year, Syracuse Mayor-elect Sharon Owens announced in a Friday release.
Rusin’s appointment comes after Cecile announced he would retire on Jan. 14, the release states. Rusin will be the department’s youngest leader in over 100 years.
Owens also reappointed Michael Monds as chief of the Syracuse Fire Department and promoted District Chief Lucas Tortorella to executive deputy chief.
As chief of police, Rusin will be given final authority over departmental policy, regulation and disciplinary matters.
Rusin has worked at the SPD for the past 19 years, according to the release. He previously worked with Owens on assembling community groups to craft police reform mandated in former New York City Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 203 and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh’s Executive Order No. 1.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Deputy Chief Rusin on several important initiatives involving the Police Department,” Owens said in the release. “It was through this collaborative process that I was fortunate to experience his thorough understanding of police policy and creativity in implementation.”
Along with Monds’ reappointment, Owens announced the retirement of First Deputy Chief Daniel Downes on Jan. 3. Executive Deputy Chief Elton Davis will replace Downes in January, the release states.
Born and raised in Syracuse, Monds has served local fire departments since 2000, according to the release. In 2021, he fulfilled the city’s promise to hire more firefighters of color.
Downes has served as first deputy chief for the past five and a half years.
“I am deeply grateful to Chief Downes for his years of exceptional service to the Fire Department,” Monds said in the release. “It has been an honor and privilege to work alongside him as we strengthened our operation to best serve the residents of the city.”
Rusin will begin serving as the new chief of police on Jan. 14.
