DC police chief stepping down to head security for NFL

“Cathy joins us with a well-deserved reputation of being a tremendous communicator, innovator and relationship builder”.

Cathy Lanier spent 26 years with the Washington, D.C. police department but has resigned her position as chief to join the NFL.

Lanier said she was most proud of restoring the department’s commitment to community policing. She will oversee the league’s security department and supervise coordination between the league and NFL teams and will be the “primary supervisor” of event security, including the Super Bowl, according to the NFL news release.

She started as a patrol officer 26 years ago.

Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), one of three mayors for which Lanier has worked, told the Washington Post Lanier leaves behind a “lasting legacy”.

Washington was dubbed the nation’s murder capital during the crack epidemic of the 1990s – with more than 300 slayings a year in the city of roughly 600,000 – but violent crime had already decreased significantly by the time Lanier became chief amid the city’s booming post-9/11 economy.

Lanier began her career as a patrol officer in 1990.

Lanier has remained one of the city’s most popular figures during her tenure atop the department, but this year she has faced increasing questions about increases in crimes, particular homicides. As for permanent replacement, Bowser said she doesn’t think the department will need the services of a search firm, but that they will work to recruit the right person.

Gregg Pemberton, treasurer of the union representing the city’s police officers, called the announcement the “greatest day in my career and so many other of the 3500 cops in this city”.

Lanier’s last day will be September 17. It is for the same reason I have made a decision to accept a position that will allow me to serve and protect America’s favorite sport, as the Senior Vice President of Security Operations for the National Football League. But her work with law enforcement is not over; she is joining the National Football League, according to sources.