Sam Dotson
{{short description|American Police Commissioner}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Doyle Samuel Dotson III
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1969}}{{cite news |title=10 Things to Know About Sam Dotson, Future St. Louis Police Chief |url=https://www.stlmag.com/news/10-Things-to-Know-About-Sam-Dotson-Future-St-Louis-Police-Chief/ |access-date=July 7, 2020 |work=St Louis Magazine |date=December 19, 2012}}
| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
| office = Chief of Police for the Amtrak Police Department
| term_start = July 2020
| term_end =
| predecessor = Neil Trugman
| successor =
| office1 = 34th Commissioner of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
| 1blankname1 = {{nowrap|Director of Public Safety}}
| 1namedata1 = Charlene Deeken
| 2blankname1 = {{nowrap|Mayor of St. Louis}}
| 2namedata1 = Francis Slay and Lyda Krewson
| term_start1 = December 14, 2012
| term_end1 = April 17, 2017
| predecessor1 = Daniel Isom
| successor1 = John Hayden Jr.
| office2 = Director of Security for the Washington Nationals
| term_start2 = April 2018
| term_end2 = July 2018
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 = Scott Fear
| office3 = Assistant Chief of Police for the Amtrak Police Department
| term_start3 = Aug 2018
| term_end3 = July 2020
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| spouse = {{marriage|Deanna Venker|2019}}{{cite news |title=St. Louis traffic boss Deanna Venker marrying Sam Dotson |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/joe-holleman/st-louis-traffic-boss-deanna-venker-marrying-sam-dotson-switching/article_83f10a58-72b5-5099-a89c-928a214566c8.html |access-date=January 22, 2020 |work=St Louis Today |date=December 5, 2019}}
| residence = Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Missouri
| alma_mater = Webster University (BA)
Fontbonne University (MBA)
}}
Doyle Samuel Dotson III is the Chief of Police for the Amtrak Police Department. He was previously St Louis' Police Commissioner from 2013 to 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-st-louis-police-chief-now-second-in-command-for/article_1908b0a1-a70e-564e-b955-15dc06c79fba.html|title=Former St. Louis police chief now second-in-command for Amtrak police|first=Christine|last=Byers|website=stltoday.com|date=18 October 2018 }}
Early life and education
Dotson is a 1987 graduate of Metro Academic and Classical High School.{{Cite web|title=2012-13 School Year News / Scholar Athlete Luncheon|url=https://www.slps.org/Page/17944|access-date=2020-07-07|website=St. Louis Public Schools|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=2013-14 School Year News / Gateway STEM HS Hosts 2nd Annual 5K for Autism Program|url=https://www.slps.org/Page/21037|access-date=2020-07-07|website=St. Louis Public Schools|language=en}} He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Management from Webster University and a Masters in Business Administration from Fontbonne University.{{Cite web|date=January 2018|title=Alumnus chosen as chief of St. Louis Metro police|url=https://www.fontbonne.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/January-2018.html|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=fontbonne.edu}}{{Citation|title=List of Webster University alumni|date=2020-02-24|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Webster_University_alumni&oldid=942453489|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=2020-07-07}}{{Cite web|date=December 14, 2012|title=Board of Police Commissioners Appoints Chief of Police|url=http://www.slmpd.org/press_releases/BoardofPoliceCommissionersAppointsChiefofPolice.pdf|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Metropolitan Police Department City of St. Louis}} He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police.
Career
Dotson joined the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis on October 11, 1993; he was assigned to the Fourth District. In 2001, he was promoted to sergeant where he served in the office of the Chief and the Ninth District. In 2007, he was promoted to lieutenant where he served in the office of the Chief. In 2008, he was promoted to captain where he served in the office of the Chief, the Seventh District, and the Board of Police Commissioners. Prior to being named Police Commissioner, he served as the city's operations director.{{cite web|date=December 2012|title=Meet the New Chief|url=http://www.slmpd.org/images/SLMPD_Newsletter-December_2012.pdf|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=St Louis Metropolitan Police Department Metro Quarterly}}{{cite web | last=Byers | first=Christine | url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sam-dotson-chosen-as-new-st-louis-police-chief/article_4e26f218-20f2-53cc-8bb1-ac23cb75de30.html | title=Sam Dotson chosen as new St. Louis Police Chief | date=December 15, 2012 | publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}{{cite web|url=https://fox2now.com/2017/04/19/sam-dotson-out-as-st-louis-police-chief/|title=Sam Dotson out as St. Louis police chief|date=19 April 2017}}
He became St. Louis' 34th Police Commissioner on December 14, 2012. In 2016 he stood for Mayor of St. Louis.{{cite web|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/dotson-enters-mayor-s-race-slay-wants-him-to-resign/article_87e048c1-7e0f-5be1-8da1-bc30fb5fb9a7.html|title=Dotson enters mayor's race; Slay wants him to resign|first=Koran Addo, Christine|last=Byers|website=stltoday.com|date=6 October 2016 }}
He resigned as Police Commissioner on April 17, 2017, when Lyda Krewson became Mayor.
{{cite web
| url= https://www.apnews.com/172018a69cd64fd2865c409995cc372f
| author = Jim Salter
| publisher = AP
| date = December 28, 2017
| title = 30-year veteran of St. Louis department named police chief
| newspaper = Lexington Herald Leader
| quote = Sam Dotson abruptly retired on the same April day that Krewson took over as mayor.
| access-date = 2019-05-14
}} After that he worked as Director of Security for the Washington Nationals baseball team,{{cite web|url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/former-st-louis-metro-police-chief-dotson-lands-job-with-washington-nationals/63-533298428|title=Former St. Louis Metro Police Chief Dotson lands job with Washington Nationals|website=KSDK|date=29 March 2018 }} before being appointed in October 2018 as assistant chief of police for Amtrak.
Personal and family life
Dotson disclosed that for years he had been estranged from his mother, who in 2018 was convicted for theft of over $2 million from a real estate company.{{cite web |author1=Doyle Murphy |title=Carol Dotson, Mom of Ex-St. Louis Police Chief, Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison |url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/07/17/carol-dotson-mom-of-ex-st-louis-police-chief-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison |publisher=Riverfront Times |access-date=May 14, 2019 |date=July 17, 2018}}
References
{{Reflist}}
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{{succession box|before=Daniel Isom|title=Metropolitan Police Commissioner|years=2012–2017|after=John Hayden Jr.}}
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{{2014 Ferguson unrest}}
{{Portal bar|Biography}}
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Category:American police chiefs
Category:Commissioners of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
Category:Webster University alumni