Black woman, Juanita Holmes Named NYPD Chief of Patrol , Historic Promotion

A black woman, Juanita Holmes, was promoted Thursday to one of the key positions in the New York Police Department, a first that should help restore confidence in a police force under fire from the Black Lives Matter movement.  

New York's Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Juanita Holmes as Patrol Chief, putting her in charge of 77 police stations and a majority of NYPD officers, the largest municipal police force in the United States with nearly 35,000 employees.

"It's incredibly important that the police leaders look like the city (...), that they really feel the neighborhoods and the people," the Democratic mayor said.

After 30 years on the force, and a brief stint in the private sector, Holmes has been the NYPD's most senior woman in charge of "working" with the public since December. 

She acknowledged that her appointment came at a "troubled time" for the New York Police Department. 

The NYPD was first charged with numerous brutalities during the massive Black Lives Matter protests that rocked New York after George Floyd's death in late May. Then it was accused of having lifted its foot, contributing to an outbreak of homicides and shootings for the first time since the 1990s. 

An unusually high number of police officers have left or want to retire, a sign of low morale. And the previous Patrol Chief, of Dominican origin, had recently resigned after less than a year in his post after disagreements with the mayor, according to local media.

New York's main police union, hostile to De Blasio and calling for the re-election of Donald Trump, applauded Holmes' appointment. 

"New York police officers desperately need capable leaders like Chief Holmes who can stand up to politicians and help halt the city's decline," tweeted its president, Patrick Lynch. 

As the city prepares for a particularly tense period ahead of the November 3 presidential election, and radical budget cuts due to the pandemic-related tax shortfall, Holmes promised to work to "restore the confidence" of New Yorkers in the police, including deepening community policing efforts already underway, which should in turn boost police morale.