RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond Police Department has had four police chiefs in the past three years, but Monday city leaders — and the new chief himself — said they hope Rick Edwards will change that instability.
Chief Rick Edwards was sworn in as Chief of Police in Richmond during a ceremony at City Hall in front of dozens of officers, community partners, mentors, and his family.
“When we all collaborate, we can move mountains. That’s what I’m going to ask of you," Edward said during his remarks to the crowd, marked by thank you and several personal jokes with those in attendance.
Edwards joined RPD a few years after graduating from the University of Richmond, where he was a star basketball player.
Edwards said his work in the city over the past two decades helps focus his leadership mentality.
"Coming up through the ranks is obviously a huge asset. I know the personnel, I know the city, I know the crime, and I know the challenges we faced historically. So, it’s helped guide us, along with my team, to make a plan to make Richmond safer," Edwards said.
During his time as an officer, Edwards was involved in the fatal shooting of a man in 2002. The suspect was running from Edwards and his partner after a traffic stop and fired at them, striking his partner, and both officers returned fire. Edwards recently called the experience the "worst day of his life."
In the two decades since, Edwards took on a growing role within RPD, and in the past nine months has served as the acting police chief.
Edwards said all the city has gone through since he took on that role helped prime him for full-time leadership.
"From the staffing crunch to crime to a mass shooting to a shooting at a hospital to a shooting at a school, all of these things coupled with day to day operation of any large organization, I think I’ve been put through the test and come out the other side," Edwards said.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said the way RPD handled the mass shooting outside a high school graduation last month helped land him the permanent position.
Stoney said Edwards' 24 years at RPD will hopefully bring in new officers to help address the department's staffing shortages.
“He’s had a cool head the entire time, and I think that’s exactly what you want from your Chief of Police," Stoney said. "It’s my hope that with some permanence in this role, that we will be able to attract some of those who might be on the sidelines, might in other localities, to come back to the Richmond Police Department.”
“We need to continue to recruit, to retain the officers we have, and we have to get people interested in this profession again," Edwards said.
Community involvement is critical to helping combat crime in the city, Edwards said, something he hopes to promote now that his leadership post is permanent.
"It's a multi-faceted approach; it's not just the police; it takes all of us to impact crime," Edwards said.
Edwards encouraged residents to attend their monthly walks through neighborhoods in the city so he can hear from the community directly about what they would like to see.
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