Anne Kirkpatrick (police officer)

Anne Kirkpatrick (born 1959) is an American law enforcement officer and the current Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. Prior to New Orleans, she was the former Chief of the Spokane Police Department and the first woman to head the Oakland Police Department.

Anne Kirkpatrick
Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department
In office
November 1, 2023 – Present
Preceded byShaun D. Ferguson

Early life and education

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Kirkpatrick is from Memphis, Tennessee, where she graduated in 1977 from Hutchison School and earned a master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Memphis; she later studied at Seattle University School of Law.[1][2]

Career

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Kirkpatrick began her career in law enforcement with the Memphis Police Department, and in Washington State was a police officer in Redmond and then a college instructor in criminal justice. She later served as Chief of Police for five years each in Ellensburg, Federal Way, and finally Spokane, from which position she retired in 2012 to become a leadership instructor for the FBI. She was also Chief Deputy of the King County Sheriff's Office for two years.[1][2] In 2016 she was one of three finalists to become Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; Mayor Rahm Emanuel subsequently appointed her Chief of the department's Bureau of Professional Standards.[2]

Oakland, California, Chief of Police

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On January 4, 2017, after six months in Chicago, Kirkpatrick was appointed by Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland, California, as the city's first female Chief of Police.[1][2][3] She was sworn in on February 27, 2017.[4]

On November 6, 2017, the chair of Oakland's privacy advisory commission, Brian Hofer, and seven others filed a complaint with Oakland's Citizens Police Review Board claiming that Kirkpatrick had made false statements about an August raid in West Oakland.[5]

On February 20, 2020, the Oakland Police Commission voted unanimously to fire Kirkpatrick with Schaaf joining in the decision as required by the law for a police chief to be fired without cause,[6] saying that the commission's trust in Kirkpatrick was "irrevocably broken".[7] Kirkpatrick subsequently filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of firing her as retaliation for reports she had made against the behavior of commissioners. In May 2022, the jury ruled partially in Kirkpatrick's favor, awarding her one year's pay, $337,000. One juror said there was "evidence that retaliation played some role in her discharge".[8] In July 2022, the City of Oakland agreed to pay her that amount plus her legal costs, a total of $1.5 million.[9]

Superintendent, New Orleans Police

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Kirkpatrick was appointed interim superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department by Mayor LaToya Cantrell in September 2023, and after confirmation by the city council[10][11] was sworn in as Superintendent in November 2023.[12] In August 2024, she struck two pedestrians with her car while on duty.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Pignolet, Jennifer (February 7, 2017). "From MPD officer to Oakland PD chief". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee.
  2. ^ a b c d Mettler, Katie (January 5, 2017). "Introducing Anne Kirkpatrick, just hired to fix Oakland's 'frat house' police department". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  3. ^ Sweeney, Annie (January 4, 2017). "Chicago police official leading reform efforts unexpectedly leaves for Oakland". Chicago Tribune.
  4. ^ Kirschenheuter, Emily; Estacio, Terisa (February 27, 2017). "Kirkpatrick officially sworn in as Oakland's new police chief". KRON 4. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017.
  5. ^ "Complaint accuses Oakland police chief of making false statements about ICE operation". KTVU News. 7 November 2017.
  6. ^ Dowd, Katie (February 25, 2020). "Ex-Oakland police chief claims refusal to give 'special treatment' part of reason she was fired". SFGate.
  7. ^ "Oakland fires police chief after trust 'irrevocably broken'". SFGate. Bay City News Service. February 20, 2020.
  8. ^ Dinzeo, Maria (May 26, 2022). "Jury finds ex-Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was wrongfully terminated, awards damages". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Ravani, Sarah (July 25, 2022). "Oakland to pay $1.5 million to fired police chief Anne Kirkpatrick". San Francisco Chronicle.
  10. ^ "Anne Kirkpatrick Sworn In as NOPD Interim Superintendent". NOPD News. New Orleans Police Department. September 22, 2023. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "Anne Kirkpatrick, a veteran cop but newcomer to New Orleans, gets city council OK as police chief". AP News. October 19, 2023.
  12. ^ "NOPD responds to reports of superintendent in LAPD chief search". WDSU. July 13, 2024.
  13. ^ Wilson, Elizabeth (August 4, 2024). "Ex-Oakland police chief strikes 2 pedestrians in New Orleans while driving on duty". San Francisco Chronicle.
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Police appointments
Preceded by
Sabrina Landreth (City Administrator)
Chief of the Oakland Police Department
2017–2020
Succeeded by
Darren Allison (interim)