Title
Authorizing the naming of the Police Department training facility, soon to be completed at 600 Lafayette Road, the "Richard H. Rowan Public Safety Training Center."
Body
WHEREAS, Richard H. Rowan (12/5/1921 - 10/26/2005) grew up in a working-class family on the east side of Saint Paul with his parents and three brothers. In 1942, at the beginning of the U.S. involvement in WWII, Rowan enlisted in the Navy and spent much of his military time aboard a USS PC-618, a patrol chaser and antisubmarine ship. Though honorably discharged in 1945, Rowan was recalled to active duty in 1951 for service in the Korean War, during which he served as an instructor at the San Diego Naval Training Center; and
WHEREAS, In 1947, Rowan married into a family of police officers. Together he and his wife Patricia Shanley (10/4/1923 - 10/18/2001) raised 4 children on the East Side, Kathleen, Thomas, Maureen, and John. Rowan joined the Saint Paul Police Department as a patrolman on October 13, 1947. He was appointed to the Chief of Police on June 30th, 1970, where he served until his retirement on December 31, 1979; and
WHEREAS, Chief Rowan’s law enforcement career spanned 32 years, much of it during periods of turbulence and unrest. He developed a reputation for making training and education a priority for his department. One of his proudest moments was graduating from the FBI Academy in 1969, being presented his diploma in the White House by President Nixon and then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. As Rowan himself said, his career highlights “included dangerous arrests, shoot-outs, even delivering six babies…. All in all, a very satisfying career.” and
WHEREAS, Chief Rowan’s legacy continues through the Rowan Award which honors integrity, courage, and innovation in current Saint Paul Police Officers; and
WHEREAS, Chief Todd Axtell, forty-first police chief of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, “Chief Rowan stands out as an example of both leadership and innovation, laying the foundation for the work we are doing today.”; now
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council does hereby name the newly constructed building at 600 Lafayette Road, Saint Paul, Minnesota the Richard H. Rowan Public Safety Training Center.