NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced that acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez will move fully into the position.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning.
She will be the city's first woman police chief. The Board of Alders will have to confirm the appointment.
"My dedication to the community and the new haven police department is to my core," said Dominguez. She highlighted how neighborhoods she used to serve as an officer watched her grow up as she grew in the department.
"Those experiences are what truly molded me and made me able to stand before you, accepting this exciting opportunity to be the first permanent female chief," said Dominguez.
Elicker talked about his faith in Dominguez to lead the department.
"In the five months Chief Dominguez led the police department she's done so through passion and determination and has done so through some very tough times," Elicker said in his announcement. "From a nationwide rise in violent crime that New Haven has experienced as well, to losing an officer in a tragic incident, to more recently holding officers accountable in order to maintain the integrity of the police department, Chief Dominguez has proven herself as a strong leader and the right person for the job."
When talking with FOX61's Tony Terzi on Monday, Dominguez said she wanted to become a cop ever since watching actress Heather Locklear play one on the television series "TJ Hooker."
"It was really the only depiction of a female police officer I could remember at the time," said Dominguez, who became acting chief last January.
Dominguez began policing at the age of 21 and was the second woman acting police chief in New Haven. She's an 18 year veteran of the New Haven police department and prior to her becoming acting police chief, was assistant chief for a year and a half.
"I think overall policing has changed especially over 20 years," Dominguez said. "So, the women before me allowed me to be sitting in this seat now without the opposition."
Dominguez said one of the challenges as chief is balancing her work duties with being a wife and the mother of two young daughters.
"Sometimes I feel like I’ve had to be on all day," Dominguez said. "I have to really make sure that I am number one being present and to being patient."
She actively recruits women into policing, an effort assisted by the nationwide "30 by 30" initiative.
"So, by 2030 that police departments are 30% women," Dominguez explained.
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