Times, they are a changin at the Seattle Police Department. Today, police chief Kathleen O'Toole announced a brand new cadre of commanders. Two were promoted from within the department; the other two were hired from Boston and Yakima. The leadership shakeup marks the end of a 35-year ban on Seattle police hiring outside talent at the top tier of the department—a ban that, as of this morning, the union representing Seattle police management agreed to stop fighting to uphold, O'Toole said today in a press conference.

"We talk a lot about police culture," said City Council Public Safety Chair Bruce Harrell. "You change culture in a few ways. Most importantly, you change people."

O'Toole seemed delighted to be turning the page, repeatedly cracking jokes that there was an Irish conspiracy afoot. (She and Mayor Ed Murray both have Irish roots + one of the new commanders is from Ireland originally + St. Patrick's Day is coming up = conspiracy!) The old crew of Assistant Chiefs, including Mike Washburn, Tag Gleason, Robin Clark, and Paul McDonagh—with the exception of Nick Metz, who's left and taken the chief job in Aurora, Colorado—has been demoted to the level of captain. So who are these co-conspirators she's hired to run the department?

Lesley Cordnor is the one who emigrated from Ireland, but she's come to be a true-blue Seattlite. With the department since 1989, Cordnor previously worked as a mechanical engineer for Boeing and Seattle City Light. Cordnor will be in charge of compliance and professional standards—in another words, she'll need to lead on holding officers accountable and complying with Justice Department-mandated reforms. "My job will be to continue that momentum and get through and beyond the consent decree," she said today. Her predecessor, Tag Gleason, was appointed last year by former interim Chief Harry Bailey.

Steve Wilske is another internal candidate who's been promoted. A 28-year veteran of the force and a former Southwest Precinct commander, he'll head up the patrol operations section. "Of all the leaders in the department, Steve Wilske is right at the top of the list," O'Toole said. "He is one to de-escalate situations and keep everyone calm. He's also very visible in the field."

Perry Tarrant has been lured to Seattle from Yakima, where he oversaw a gang prevention initiative. Tarrant is the vice president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Bob Merner comes from Boston. O'Toole spoke fondly about promoting him when she was the chief there. He'll oversee SPD's detectives. "I'm an enforcement guy," Merner said today, "but I really realize how important it is to engage the community in prevention and intervention." He said a member of Boston's Somali community had called him this morning, in tears at the news that he was leaving the city.

Finally, in related news, O'Toole announced the hiring of former Amazon executive Greg Russell as the department's chief information officer.

There are more details on all of these folks' backgrounds, the hiring process, and who their bosses are over at SPD's Blotter.

Amid the smiles and wisecracks, Mayor Murray stepped to the microphone and cautioned, "We've made progress and the [federal] monitor has indicated we're making progress. But we still have a long way to go."

He's right on that point. Solid leadership is great, but in terms of reform and accountability, enforceable systems in place that outlast individual leaders will be far more important if the department is to move forward. In a sense, we've been here before. In 1979, Seattle Mayor Charles Royer brought in Pat Fitzsimons from New York City, along with a new assistant chief from San Diego, to root out corruption and build community trust in the department. Fitzsimons clashed with the police unions, but his generally-praised 15-year tenure lasted the longest of any chief. Still, by 2012, as we know, the Department of Justice identified systematic problems within the department and forced it into a reform process.

On the way out I ran into Dawn Mason, the former state representative who helped bring to light the case of William Wingate, arrested for "walking while black" last year.

"Did they come with the scalpel," Mason asked rhetorically, "to cut out the disease where it lives?"