By David Nakamura and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 21, 2006; A01
Cathy L. Lanier, who rose quickly through the ranks of the D.C. police after starting as a rookie 16 years ago, was named yesterday by Mayor-elect Adrian M. Fenty to become the first permanent female chief of the 3,800-member force.
Lanier, 39, a native of Prince George's County, has spent her entire law enforcement career in the District and impressed Fenty (D) during her years as a beat officer and patrol commander.
But in many ways, she represents an unusual choice for Fenty, the D.C. Council's Ward 4 representative, who has been among the staunchest critics of the man she will replace, Charles H. Ramsey. Fenty has echoed the complaints of residents, particularly those in the city's poorer wards, that Ramsey has not put enough officers on the streets and focused too heavily on federal security issues.
Lanier has long been a favorite of Ramsey's, who gave her key patrol commands and later put her in charge of the bomb squad, SWAT team and other special units. In April, Ramsey named her head of the department's homeland security division -- another coveted assignment in the chief's inner circle.
Asked why he chose to remove Ramsey and replace him with a protégé, Fenty played down his differences with the chief and said Lanier will break from her mentor when necessary.
"It's indisputable that the police department has made objective improvement," Fenty said at a news conference with Lanier and Ramsey at his side. "But it's always appropriate to bring in someone who has a new set of eyes and brings new ways to attack the problems. Cathy Lanier will do that without losing the good initiatives of Chief Ramsey."
Ramsey's departure marked the first step in Fenty's public safety agenda. He has said he plans to replace Adrian H. Thompson, chief of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, whose agency has been criticized for lapses in emergency response.
Lanier, who will receive the same $175,000 salary as Ramsey, will take over a department whose reputation has generally improved from the late 1990s, when officers were criticized for using excessive force, botching investigations and abusing overtime.
But officers have complained about long hours under crime emergencies enacted by Ramsey, including an extended period this summer after a spike in violent crime. Lanier pledged to focus on improving morale in the department and improving ways to deploy officers.
"It's the perception and fear of crime and the way people feel on the streets," Lanier said. "It does not matter what the crime statistics are if people feel afraid."
Fenty had reportedly been interested in several former D.C. officers in charge of other cities' police departments. But yesterday he called Lanier his first and only choice. He said he did not consult Ramsey, the council or the police union before making his decision even though the council will vote on her nomination in January before she officially takes charge.
Ramsey attended the news conference as a show of solidarity, but rank-and-file officers were "stunned" at the news, said Officer Kristopher Baumann, chairman of the D.C. police labor union. The union, which has feuded with Ramsey, had hoped that Fenty would select someone with a more independent point of view, preferably from outside the department, Baumann added.
"We were hoping for someone to come in and transform the agency," he said. "We would have appreciated having some input into the process."
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the council's Judiciary Committee, said he would have preferred Fenty to have conducted a broader search. In 1998, city officials vetted 50 candidates from across the country before then-Mayor Marion Barry and others hired Ramsey, who had been the deputy in Chicago.
On the flip side, Mendelson said that Lanier is "well regarded" and that "hiring within means it's more likely that changes will be in line with the current improvements rather than just doing things differently, which is more likely with an outsider."
Ramsey, 56, the longest-serving chief in more than three decades of home rule, had said he hoped to continue as chief at least until his contract expires in 2008. He will receive six months of severance pay and upgrades to his retirement package, stepping down after Fenty is sworn in Jan. 2.
"I support this decision 100 percent," Ramsey said. "I did what I was brought here to do. I turned the department around. It's not perfect. Nothing ever is. If you want miracles, go to a church. . . . But don't feel sorry for me. Cathy can take this department to another level."
Lanier joined the force in 1990, when the department was under pressure to quickly hire hundreds of officers. Officials cut corners on background checks and training for recruits in 1989 and 1990, and dozens of officers hired in those years wound up in trouble over criminal charges and disciplinary problems. Lanier was a standout, moving up the ranks to sergeant, lieutenant, captain, inspector and commander.
Lanier got to know Fenty during her time patrolling his ward but said she was shocked when Fenty offered her the job Nov. 10, three days after he won the election. She accepted two days later despite concern that chiefs usually keep their jobs only three to five years.
"I do have my running shoes and my BlackBerry ready, sir," Lanier said, laughing along with Fenty, a triathlete known for long work hours.
Asked to assess her achievements as a commander, Lanier talked extensively about the "precision patrols" she enacted in the 4th Police District, assigning extra officers to attack crime hot spots based on data analysis.
Leopold Wilburn, a Ward 4 activist, said Lanier developed a reputation as someone willing to listen to residents and incorporate their ideas.
"We invited her to functions, and she always came and never said no," Wilburn said. "She was right there on top of everything."
Lanier, who is white, acknowledged that she might face skeptics in a city often polarized by race and a department whose only female chief, Sonya T. Proctor, served a temporary assignment for a few months before Ramsey arrived. While coming up the ranks, Lanier said, she made a point of turning down assignments usually reserved for women, such as overseeing youth and communications issues.
"If people get to know what kind of person you are, it may be an issue in the beginning, but it's not a big deal," she said. "It will really boil down to: Do I do a good job for everybody, or do I not?"
