John W. Hayden Jr. (born December 4, 1962) is an American law enforcement officer who was appointed as the 35th Police Commissioner of St. Louis, Missouri on December 28, 2017, by former Mayor Lyda Krewson, and was St. Louis' fourth African-American Police Commissioner.
He was accepted into Saint Louis University School of Law and has completed over 50 credits in their Juris Doctor program.
[4] Hayden joined the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on February 23, 1987, where he served in the Fourth District.
He also was assigned to the Vice/Narcotics Division, Fourth District Detective Unit and the Police Academy and Commander of North Patrol.
He oversaw a department of 1,350 officers and 465 civilian employees with a yearly budget of $370 million.