Several of the nation's best-known top cops left their big-city police chief positions in 2009 amid a year of budget turmoil, a spike in officer deaths, and shifting law enforcement priorities.
Next year, 10 of the nation's most populous cities will have new chiefs — Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa.
The number of departures isn't as unusual as the names of the chiefs leaving, a leading police union official tells POLICE Magazine.
"It's somewhat cyclical," said Jim Pasco, executive director with the national Fraternal Order of Police. "The real high-profile chiefs with a track record of accomplishment seem to be doing so on their own volition and at an appropriate time for them."
Pasco estimated that most big-city chiefs serve for just over two years before leaving.
Chiefs entering jobs in Detroit and Oakland are taking on challenging turnaround assignments in higher crime areas. They'll have a lower bar for success, yet also will be under closer scrutiny.
"Generally, in those cities there's a high level of frustration," Pasco added. "Their [city leaders and community members] expectations are going to be high and they're going to be impatient."
To help officers follow the changes at the top, POLICE Magazine has prepared a handy guide to all the moves. View them on the next two pages.[PAGEBREAK]
Atlanta
Out: Richard Pennington
In: George Turner (interim)
Why: Pennington had battled with the city's police union, who questioned his absence during several high-profile crimes, including the killing of a 92-year-old during a botched drug raid.
Dallas
Out: David Kunkle
In: Pending
Why: In November, Kunkle announced he would retire by April after more than five years as chief. Kunkle said it was the "right time to go," after 38 years with a department where he started as a patrol officer.
Detroit
Out: James Barren
In: Warren Evans
Why: In August, Evans took over a city that was at the top of the nation in homicides and violent crimes. A former sheriff, he promised to tame the "wild wild West" climate.
Houston
Out: Harold Hurtt
In: Pending
Why: Houston's mayor-elect Annise Parker called for new police leadership in December after criticizing the command staff for a 40 percent budget increase over six years without hiring additional officers.
Los Angeles
Out: William Bratton
In: Charlie Beck
Why: Bratton left in October, following the lifting of the consent decree imposed after the Rampart scandal. He took a job at a private security firm in New York, where he had previously served as police commissioner.[PAGEBREAK]
Miami
Out: John Timoney
In: Miguel Exposito
Why: Timoney resigned in November after the election of Mayor Tomas Regalado. The new mayor campaigned for new leadership, siding with the police union who cited low patrol morale. Timoney had been criticized for using an SUV from a local car dealer.
Oakland
Out: Wayne Tucker
In: Tony Batts
Why: Batts takes over a department reeling from the deaths of four officers ambushed by a parolee, threatened budget cuts, and a technologically outdated crime mapping system. He oversaw a reduction in crime as the chief of the Long Beach (Calif.) Police Department.
San Francisco
Out: Heather Fong
In: George Gascon
Why: Mayor Gavin Newsom hired Gascon, a former LAPD deputy chief, from the Mesa (Ariz.) Police Department to modernize the department.
Seattle
Out: Gil Kerlikowske
In: Pending
Why: Kerlikowske left in March to become the federal drug czar in the Obama Administration. Mayor-elect Mike McGinn is restarting a stalled search process put on hold by the former mayor's loss in a primary election.
Tampa
Out: Steve Hogue
In: Jane Castor
Why: Hogue retired after six years as chief. Castor became the first female (and openly gay) chief in Tampa, and downplayed her trailblazing.
