"RICHMOND The first Black woman ever to lead the Richmond Police Department is deciding to call it a career. Chief Bisa French will step down on Jan. 16, 2026. She was appointed permanent police chief on July 16, 2020, 10 months after she took over in an interim role following the removal of then-Chief Allwyn Brown. That appointment immediately made her an iconic figure in what is now a 120-year-old department. Seven years earlier, she had been named the first Black captain in the department."
"We continue to talk about alternative responses, French said a press conference last month to discuss a fatal police shooting on Aug. 4. But we still leave up to mentally ill individuals to make decisions that they clearly not capable of making, and something has to change. I don't have the answers for what can be done. I do hope there will be conversation about legislation and laws that get people that need mental help and assistance they need."
Bisa French will step down as Richmond Police Department chief on Jan. 16, 2026, after serving as permanent chief since July 16, 2020. She became the department's first Black captain seven years earlier and the first Black woman to lead the 120-year-old department. French's tenure included the lowest homicide totals on record, with 20 homicides since 2023 and only one in 2025; 2023 recorded eight homicides, the lowest since 1971. She advanced programs focused on transparency, training and community engagement, and advocated for less violent, alternative responses for critical incidents involving the mentally ill. The city will begin a search for a new chief.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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