Anne Kirkpatrick (Police Officer)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anne Kirkpatrick

• Anne Kirkpatrick grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.

• She began her policing career in Memphis by working as a patrol officer.

• Meanwhile, she also earned her master’s degree in counselling psychology from Memphis.

• She worked as a police officer in Memphis for around three and a half years, working in the Organized Crime Unit and Narcotics Unit of the city.

• Anne then took an educational leave of absence from the Memphis Police Department and moved to Washington, where she enrolled for a law course at Seattle University School of Law.

• In 1987, Anne began working as a Sergeant in Redmond, Washington. She held the position till 1995. During her tenure, she served as Assistant Commander, Criminal Procedure Instructor, and TAC Officer at Washington State Law Enforcement Academy.

• Anne worked as a college instructor at Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington from 1995 to 1996. While working there, she served as Ad Hoc Director of the Criminal Justice Program. Anne designed and taught new courses on Community-Oriented Policing, Domestic Violence, and Police Administration.

• From 1996 to 2001, Kirkpatrick served as Chief of Police in the city of Ellensburg.

  

• Anne also served as a Legal Instructor at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission from 1990 to 2001.

• She then served as the Chief of Police of Federal Way from 2001 to 2006.

• In 2006, Anne was transferred to Spokane, Washington, where she served as the Chief of Police until her retirement in January 2012.

• After her retirement, Anne was appointed as a Senior Instructor at FBI’s leadership program called LEEDA. There, she taught leadership to mid and high-ranking law enforcement executives around the country. She worked there for around a year.

• From December 2012 to July 2014, Anne Kirkpatrick served as Undersheriff of the King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle, Washington.

• In July 2014, Anne began working as a Master Instructor for FBI’s LEEDA.

• In 2016, Anne was one of the three selected candidates to be appointed as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. However, she was later appointed as the Chief of the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Professional Standards. She worked there for around six months.

• On 4 January 2017, Anne was appointed as the Chief of Police of Oakland, California, becoming the first woman to head the Oakland Police Department. She took the oath of office on 27 February 2017.

  

• In February 2020, Anne was fired by the Oakland Police Commission after a complaint was filed by Brian Hofer, the chairman of Oakland’s privacy advisory commission, with Oakland’s Citizens Police Review Board, claiming that Kirkpatrick had made false statements about an August raid in West Oakland.

• She then filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Oakland, claiming wrongful termination for exposing corruption and abuse of power within the department. In May 2022, the verdict came partially in favour of Kirkpatrick and she received one year’s pay $337,000. In July 2022, received a $1.5 million settlement from the City of Oakland.

• In September 2023, Anne Kirkpatrick was appointed as the Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. She took the oath of office in November 2023.

  

• In 2024, while she was serving as the Superintendent of Police for the New Orleans Police Department, a vehicle attacked pedestrians in New Orleans, killing around 15 of them and injuring 30 people. The attack was considered as an act of terrorism and the suspect was killed in a shootout with police.

  

• Anne loves travelling, running, biking, swimming, fishing, and reading in his leisure time.

• She also takes part in Special Olympics.

• During a media interaction, Anne revealed that she fell into policing as she didn’t want to do a desk job and she thought that the job was a great fit for her as she was a very curious, people-oriented, and athletic person.