Cathy Lanier

Cathy Lynn Lanier (born July 22, 1967) is a former chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Lanier was appointed by Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty in January 2007, replacing outgoing police chief Charles H. Ramsey. She is the first woman to hold the position. In May 2012, Mayor Vincent C. Gray agreed to retain Lanier as police chief under a new five-year contract.[1] Lanier accepted a third appointment from Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2016, making her the first chief of police in MPD history to serve three mayors. Violent crime dropped 23 percent over the years Lanier was chief, and homicides plunged to a half-century low in 2012.[2] On August 16, 2016, it was announced that Lanier had accepted a position as the senior vice president of security with the National Football League.[3] Her last day as police chief was September 15, 2016, when she was succeeded by her deputy, Peter Newsham.[4] Lanier was the longest serving Chief of Police in the history of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia.

Cathy L. Lanier
Lanier in August 2007
Born (1967-07-22) July 22, 1967
Tuxedo, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
Police career
Country United States of America
Allegiance District of Columbia
Department Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
Service years1990–2016
StatusRetired
Rank
  • 1990: Sworn in as an officer
  • 1994: Sergeant
  • 1996: Lieutenant
  • 1998: Captain
  • 1999: Inspector
  • 2000: Commander
  • 2007: Chief of Police
Other workNFL Head of Security

Early life and education

Lanier was raised in suburban Tuxedo, Maryland, on the northeast edge of the District of Columbia in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Lanier dropped out of high school after the ninth grade, and became a mother at the age of 15.[5] Lanier rose from a challenging childhood. She later earned a GED and Associate’s degree at the University of the District of Columbia.

She has both Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in management from Johns Hopkins University and holds a Master of Arts in national security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; her thesis was Preventing Terror Attacks in the Homeland: A New Mission for State and Local Police.[6] She attended an executive education program at Harvard Kennedy School.

Career

Lanier had joined the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia in 1990 as a foot patrolman. In 1994, she was promoted to Sergeant and, two years later, a Lieutenant, before becoming a patrol supervisor. In 1999, she became a Captain and, later that year, was promoted to Inspector and placed in charge of the Department's Major Narcotics Branch/Gang Crime Unit. In August 2000, she was promoted to Commander-in-Charge of the Fourth District of the city. In April 2006, she became the Commander at the Office of Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism, Office of the Chief of Police in MPDC, overseeing, among other things, the bomb squad and the emergency response team.[7]

Lanier was criticized in July 2009 after claiming that motorists who used GPS navigation and smartphones to avoid traffic cameras were employing a "cowardly tactic".[8]

Lanier has defended the practice of arresting individuals reselling tickets to sporting events, even if the tickets were sold at face value.[9] The tactic has led to the arrest of out of town visitors who had extra tickets to see the Washington Nationals.[10]

She retired from the Metropolitan Police Department in September 2016 to become the head of security of the National Football League.[11]

References
  1. Duggan, Paul (9 May 2012). "D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier gets new 5-year contract". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  2. Williams, Clarence (August 16, 2016). "D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier steps down to work for the NFL". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  3. "DC Police Department on Twitter: "After 26 yrs with MPD, the last 10 as Chief of Police, Cathy Lanier announces her retirement effective next month"". Twitter. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  4. Herman, Peter (August 16, 2016). "D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier steps down to work for the NFL". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  5. CNN Newsroom interview transcript
  6. Lanier's Masters Thesis Preventing Terror Attacks in the Homeland: A New Mission for State and Local Police, September 2005
  7. Sari Horowitz (12 June 2005). "Israeli Experts Teach Police On Terrorism: Training Programs Prompt Policy Shifts". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  8. Peterson, Hayley (6 July 2009). "Police chief denounces 'cowardly' iPhone users monitoring speed traps". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  9. "D.C. police chief: Scalpers can be arrested". WTOP. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  10. "Welcome, baseball fan. Go directly to jail". The Washington Post. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  11. Hermann, Peter; Williams, Clarence; Marimow, Ann E. (August 16, 2016). "D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier steps down to work for the NFL". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
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