Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced at news conference Saturday the appointment of Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan, a retired Rochester Police Department veteran, as the new interim police chief for the Rochester Police Department.
“I am extremely pleased to announce my selection of Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan as the City’s Interim Police Chief,” Mayor Lovely Warren told the press. “As a former RPD Officer who served with distinction for many years, I am convinced that Ms. Herriott-Sullivan is the perfect person to fill this position at this particular time. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the job, and through her previous service, has proven that she cares deeply for the well-being of our community and our citizens. As the first woman to serve in this role, I am confident she will bring a different perspective and instill a fresh approach to policing, which are very much needed in our city at this particular time.”
Herriott-Sullivan will start her new role on October 14 and she will hold the post until a permanent chief assumes the position in June 2021.
The appointment follows the firing of former Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, two weeks before his official retirement in response to the death of Chicago resident Daniel Prude.
Herriott-Sullivan, who joined RPD in 1985, is the first woman to hold the position of chief in the Rochester Police Department
Before retiring, Herriott-Sullivan served as executive lieutenant of Critical Incident Response in the office of the chief and Federal Grant Program Manager, she left law enforcement to dedicate her time to community activism, including fighting homelessness and helping underprivileged children to avoid school-related problems and criminal activity. She currently serves as interim deputy executive director at the Rochester Housing Authority, as well as deputy executive director of Rise Up Rochester, a nonprofit supporting the families of victims of violent crime. Herriott-Sullivan received her master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Keuka College and a Bachelor’s from Roberts Wesleyan College.
Joining the interim chief are Capt. Gabriel Person, who has been named Deputy Chief of Operations, and Moses Robinson, a crime prevention officer who will join the command staff in the chief’s office, where his work will focus on community engagement and violence reduction efforts.
Mayor Warren has stepped up efforts to reform the Rochester Police Department amid fallout from the death of Daniel Prude, including protests that have racked the city since the video of Prude’s deadly March 23 encounter with police in the city.