Shawn Rooney currently serves as commander of the Fifth District, which covers portions of the Northeast quadrant of the city. He was promoted to commander by Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith on September 18, 2024.
Commander Rooney began his career with the MPD in 2008, when he was assigned to the First District in Patrol Services. Later he was selected to serve in the inaugural China Town Initiative Project to address the rising incidence of violent crime. Promoted to sergeant in 2014, Commander Rooney was assigned to the Third District where he assumed oversight of a similar unit, the Nightlife Unit. In both of these specialized assignments, the units collected intelligence and deployed highly proactive tactics that were instrumental in significantly reducing robberies, assaults and property-related crimes. Numerous citations and awards were bestowed to individual members and the units as a whole.
Promoted to lieutenant in 2018, Commander Rooney was first assigned to the Seventh District as a Patrol Lieutenant and later to the First District as a Detective Lieutenant, overseeing criminal investigations and being detailed on a rotating basis as the Criminal Investigation Division’s Citywide Watch Commander. In 2022, he was assigned to Investigative Services Bureau where he managed the Violent Crime Impact Team (Investigations), comprised of MPD Detectives, along with Supervisors and Agents of the ATF, DEA, FBI, and US Marshal’s Service. He managed large-scale federal cases and joint task force operations and the Telephone Surveillance Unit (TSU), the NIBIN Unit, the Criminal Intel Unit, the DIO Program, and the CODIS database. The team was instrumental in the apprehension and successful prosecution of numerous violent offenders, helping to ensure the community’s safety. Accordingly, it received numerous individual and unit accolades.
Promoted to captain in 2022, Commander Rooney was assigned to the Violent Crime Suppression Division where he was responsible for overseeing the allocation of assets to mitigate firearms violence, the investigation and disruption of major drug/narcotics trafficking, and prostitution and human trafficking offenses, and the timely establishment of specialized units to address problems that suddenly manifested in the community, posing an immediate threat to safety and security. The division’s efforts resulted in numerous arrests of violent offenders and the respect and grateful admiration of the public.
Commander Rooney has an Associate’s Degree in Business with an underlying focus on government and economics, and certifications in Series 7 and 66, General Securities and Uniform Combined State Securities Laws, respectively. He is trained in Civil Disturbance and STAT, M-4 Rifle and Taser application, and motorcycle operation. Commander Rooney is also proficient in Spanish and semi-proficient in American Sign Language (ASL).
In addition to receiving numerous commendations from superiors and the community, he has been honored as Police Officer of the Year, Sergeant of the Year, and Captain of the Year.