First black woman to highest ranking post in NYPD 

In an unprecedented move, New York authorities announced yesterday the promotion of the first African-American woman to a top patrol job. This first comes at a time when protests by Black Lives Matter movement continue. NYC mayor, Bill de Blasio, appointed Juanita Holmes chief of patrol, to become the first female to take on the role of overseeing 77 police stations and a majority of New York Police Department (NYPD), the largest municipal force in the US with around 35,000 employees. The Democratic mayor said during a press conference: “it’s really time to have more and more women in positions of leadership in NYPD and in police forces all over the country.” Holmes, who has been in the NYPD service for 30 years, has been in charge of liaising with the public since last December. (An Nahar, October 29, 2020)