Dorothy "Annie" Todd is sworn in as deputy police chief in Cleveland, becoming the highest ranking woman in the CDP....She succeeds Joellen O'Neill, who retired....Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
September 24, 2022 — CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb, Chief Director of Public Safety Karrie D. Howard and Police Chief Wayne Drummond are pleased to announce that Commander Dorothy "Annie" Todd has been appointed as the new deputy police chief of the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP).
Flanked by Chief Drummond and some rank and file types there in support, Deputy Chief Todd was sworn in by Mayor Bibb at City Hall.
"Deputy Chief Todd is an effective and empathic leader who has spent the last 21 years protecting and serving the city," said Mayor Bibb. "We are delighted to recognize her accomplishments and welcome her to this new role."
Chief Drummond said that Todd is an effective leader, and an asset to the Cleveland Police Department
The mayor, who took office for the first time in January, also said that the city is deeply grateful to Todd's predecessor, outgoing deputy chief Joellen O'Neill, who recently retired after eight years as deputy police chief and 30 years of dedicated service in law enforcement and outstanding leadership. He wished her the best.
"We wish her all the best in her retirement," Bibb said of O'Neil.
Todd is now the highest ranking woman in the CDP as the city of Cleveland and the U.S. Department of Justice remain parties to a court-monitored consent decree for police reforms. Also, Cleveland voters passed a controversial new charter amendment of police oversight known as Issue 24 last November
Deputy Chief Todd more recently was commander of CDP's third district. She has been with the CDP since September 2000 and has held the ranks of sergeant (2012), lieutenant (2017) and commander of the third district (2019). As incident commander who supervised high-profile events within the downtown area, including presidential visits and debates, MLB All-Star, the NFL Draft, NBA All-Star, and the Cleveland Air Show, along with numerous parades, women's rights and excessive force marches and demonstrations, and festivals.
Deputy Chief Todd has also received awards during her law enforcement career for heroism and other distinguished service.
Women's March Cleveland head organizer Kathy Wray Coleman, who also leads Imperial Women Coalition, the grassroots activist group founded in 2009 relative to the murders of 11 Black women on Imperial Avenue in Cleveland by the late serial killer Anthony Sowell, said that Deputy Chief Todd, when she was a commander over events and protests and marches this summer, including after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, was fair, wise, firm, and respectful to community activists.
"Deputy Chief Todd was a pleasure to work with as a commander during high profile rallies and marches in Cleveland this year when tensions were high and anything could happen and several of the young women who were protesting with us in the trenches this past summer around abortion access and reproductive rights during this crisis time for women in America admired and respected her," said Coleman."We congratulate her on her promotion to deputy police chief and urge the CDP to promote more women, Blacks, and people of color in general in positions of leadership, particularly since Cleveland is a largely Black and majority female city, and a major American city."
Coleman said that pro-life counterprotesters, mainly disgruntled, angry White men, would sometimes seek to antagonize protesters during pro-abortion rallies and marches in Cleveland, usually in an effort to harass young pro-choice women. But the presence of seasoned organizers and law enforcement types like Deputy Chief Dorothy Todd, she said, would often deter them, and potential violence.
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