Santa Cruz Announces Retirement From Department Of Public Safety

Albert Santa Cruz (AP)

JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – A long-time member of law enforcement announced his retirement Wednesday.

Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz says he’s ending his 43-year career after spending the past five years with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

He said in a statement that serving the state has been an “honor and privilege.”

He started his career as a Highway Patrol trooper in 1974. He will leave at the end of January.

The DPS says under Cruz’s leadership the “most aggressive drivers’ license modernization in DPS history” took place, the state-of-the-art Mississippi Forensics Laboratory (formerly State Crime Lab) opened and a merit promotion system was put into place.

Santa Cruz was commissioner earlier this year when the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Office of Homeland Security both settled sexual harassment lawsuits.