Chief LaDon Reynolds joined the Oak Park Police Department in 1994. After graduating from the Chicago Police Training Academy Metro Class as a patrol officer, he rose steadily through the ranks to serve as a patrol officer, tactical officer, detective, sergeant and commander. He was promoted to Deputy Police Chief in September 2017 after serving seven years as Detective Commander, managing the Investigations Division. He also served as both Acting Chief and Interim Chief prior to being sworn as Chief of Police in January 2019. He is a graduate of the 260th Session of the FBI National Academy, the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute and the Community Leadership Program at Dominican University’s Brennan School of Business. Additionally, he holds leadership certifications from the Executive Education program at The Harvard Kennedy School.

Chief Reynolds has served as an instructor for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute’s Effective Police Supervision program where he specialized in Diversity Awareness and Community Policing. He is also a certified trainer in policing ethics. He is the Chairman of the Law Enforcement Executive Board for the Chicago FBI Regional Crime Forensics Laboratory, a former board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Metro Suburban Chapter (NAMI), a board member and subcommittee chair of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board and a member of the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes for the State of Illinois.

He holds a Master of Science degree in Education and a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.