Former Fresno Police Chief Ed Winchester dies
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Former Fresno Police Chief Ed Winchester has died.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a previous story on Winchester's last day as police chief.
Winchester led the department from 1993 to 2001.
He leaves behind his wife, three daughters and multiple grandchildren.
Mayor Jerry Dyer, who took over Winchester's role, said in a statement that he "was a one-of-a-kind police chief who was tough on crime but had a heart of gold."
Winchester's final years as Fresno's top cop were tumultuous. Explosives were stolen from a department bunker, drugs and more than $100,000 went missing from evidence lockup, and an officer in the department was convicted of manslaughter.
Still, Dyer credited Winchester for the city's violent crime reductions in the mid-1990s.
Flags will be flown at half-mast at Fresno City Hall and the Fresno Police Department for the next week to honor Winchester.
