(24:53) Our featured Interview...For the first time in its history, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department hired its chief from outside the department.Chief Robert Tracy came to St. Louis after more than four decades in law enforcement, with a career that took him from the Bronx to Chicago, Wilmington and ultimately St. Louis.And when he arrived, he knew exactly what he was walking into.SLMPD is a proud department with a long history, deep traditions and generations of officers who had spent their entire careers there. Tracy knew there would be skepticism about an outsider coming in to lead the department.But instead of flipping the table, he took a different approach.Respect the organization. Learn its history. Listen to its people. Give officers the tools to do their jobs. And make changes when changes are actually needed — not simply for the sake of making changes.In this episode of The Brighter Side of Blue, we sit down with Chief Robert Tracy for a conversation that goes well beyond crime statistics and the usual questions he gets from the media.We talk about what it was like coming into SLMPD as the department's first outside chief, how he earned the trust of the men and women wearing the badge, the changes he's seen over the past three years and why he believes the department is finding its stride again.But we also get to know the man behind the badge.Chief Tracy talks about his father, a highly respected NYPD homicide detective who helped shape his career, his mother and her career as a nurse, his wife Brenda, his five children and the importance of having mentors throughout a law-enforcement career.He talks about why he and his family have chosen to stay in St. Louis, what he loves about the city, St. Louis sports, his first encounter with St. Louis-style pizza and why he believes this city is often harder on itself than it needs to be.And yes... we even find out what happened when a young NYPD officer named Robert Tracy met Dolly Parton. 😂It's a very different conversation with the Chief — personal, funny, candid and a look at the man who came to St. Louis from the outside and decided to put down roots.Communities that support law enforcement are safer places to live.