Kim Royster Will Become Highest-Ranking Black Woman in NYPD History

At the end of August NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster will be promoted to chief making her the highest-ranking black woman in the department’s history.

The commanding officer of the NYPD’s Public Information Office and mother of two started her career with the NYPD in 1985 as a police administrative aide and has nearly 30 years of experience with the department.
She has been credited for being at the forefront of the NYPD gun buypack program, which is responsible for taking more than 8,000 weapons off the streets.
“She will oversee recruitment — how we go about getting the people, how we inform them of the process and how we get them through recruitment,” a high-ranking source told NY Daily News.

While Royster declined to comment on her promotion she did say, “This is a great opportunity to be part of Commissioner (Bill) Bratton’s plan to prepare our department to be the leaders of policing in the 21st century.”

Photo: Bryan Smith/New York Daily News