Chattanooga mayor names new police chief, Celeste Murphy

Mayor Tim Kelly has picked Celeste Murphy as Chattanooga's next police chief, which would make her the first woman - and first Black woman - to helm the department.

Murphy has been serving as deputy chief for the Atlanta Police Department. She was one of four finalists, and her appointment requires approval by the Chattanooga City Council. At a Tuesday news conference, she spoke of what it meant to make history in Chattanooga, receiving resounding applause and cheers from community members.

"Diversity is how you're able to solve problems, because you have different perspectives, and that's one of the things I said I wanted to bring to Chattanooga - a different perspective," Murphy said. "It's not always about something being totally wrong, or not working or it's disastrous, it's just about sometimes a fresh start, a new perspective, a new direction."

If she is approved by the council, Murphy's salary will be $165,000 a year.

"Chief Murphy knows her stuff, and I've selected her because she knows how to get stuff done, and she knows how to keep people safe," Kelly said. "She's led community police work her entire career, and she's never backed down. She is, by her own definition, a winner."

The mayor said Murphy's more than 20 years in law enforcement made her a solid candidate for the job, citing a double-digit drop in violent crime in Atlanta in 2020 when Murphy led Atlanta's Community Services Division and Special Operations.

The mayor's announcement came after launching a nationwide search in October to replace former Chief David Roddy, who announced his retirement in June. Deputy Chief Eric Tucker had been serving as interim chief.

(READ MORE: 5 questions for Chattanooga's new police chief)

At Tuesday's news conference, Murphy outlined her priorities if she becomes the city's new police chief. They include violent crime reduction, community policing and youth engagement.

"I'm going to make sure we leverage technology and inter-agency coordination to disrupt that small percentage of people who make the biggest dent in our crimes," she said.

The department under her supervision will also ensure that Chattanooga police officers make themselves visible in the community, she said, and she plans to partner with schools, the county, faith leaders and others in Chattanooga to build connections.

"We're going to expose the humanity in each other by embracing what we have in common," Murphy said.

When asked about distrust in police among members of the minority community following years of incidents across the nation in which Black people have died at the hands of police, she told her own story of how it had impacted her personally. Murphy was serving as deputy chief in Atlanta during the nationwide protests following former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin's murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

On Tuesday, she said a member of her family had died in police custody in New York.

"It goes back to making sure we bring humanity back into the law enforcement profession," Murphy said. "I did indeed have a family member die in police custody, and it ended up being the wrong person and should have not been in custody. To be a person who was at that time a high-ranking official in the police department and I wasn't able to help, I know what it feels like for families in similar situations. There is no way I would make another family go through the same thing that my family also went through."

(READ MORE: Chattanooga names four finalists for police chief)

Representation in the police department is a key factor in bringing back trust between residents and the department, she said.

"The easiest thing for me, and I know it worked for me, and I'm sure it has worked for others, is seeing someone who looks like me doing what I came to do in this department," she said.

Kelly said he had six community members also interview the four candidates and advise him on the matter, all of whom recommended Murphy as the next chief.

One of them was Joe Smith of Hixson, a school board member.

"We had four very qualified candidates who I'm confident as they continue with their career paths wherever they go, but Chief Murphy just rang our bell," Smith said.

Murphy served in the Atlanta Police Department for more than 20 years in positions including patrol officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant and captain.

She was appointed to the rank of major in 2016 and was chosen to lead the Office of Professional Standards. She was the sixth woman to serve as a precinct commander and the first woman to command two different precincts in the history of the department.

(READ MORE: As Chattanooga police chief decision nears, take a closer look at the four candidates)

She has taken on multiple high-level assignments for the department, including overseeing policing at the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, as well as managing Violent Crime Interdiction. During the period of unrest after the killing of George Floyd, she managed approximately 900 patrol officers and worked with the community to quickly restore the peace, according to a news release from the mayor's office.

In a 2020 video she recorded for the Atlanta Police Department, Murphy said pioneering roles were challenging there at first, but the department has since become "extremely progressive."

"You know, there's always the pressure of being a female on a department that's majority men, especially being a Black female, you're always raised that you have to do better, you have to do more, you have to be ahead of the game all the time," she said. "I try to just keep driving and pushing because that's how I was raised. I've always been raised that way. And that's just how I react, I just always try to, you know, better myself. But at the same time, I always try to use that same drive and instill it in other people in the department. Not necessarily females, but of course, females are my passion, because I know that sometimes their voices are silenced, or they may not feel as confident sometimes or just maybe feel overshadowed being in a department that's mostly male. So, of course, I'll try to make sure that I reach out to the females especially, and guide them in some of the things that they have to face."

Prior to her appointment as Chattanooga's police chief, Murphy had served since January 2021 as the deputy chief of the Community Services Division, which encompasses units that are directly responsible for Atlanta's community-oriented policing.

In that role, Murphy coordinated with the non-profit Policing Alternatives & Diversion initiative, which gives officers the discretion to divert offenders committing low-level offenses to social services and involves a holistic approach for individuals who may suffer from mental illness or homelessness.

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She also oversaw five additional sections, including Special Operations (SWAT, aviation unit, motors unit, accident investigations, mounted patrol, special events, and the community liaison unit), Code Enforcement, Strategic Response (responsible for bringing resources to bear for major events or protests), Narcotics and Undercover Investigations, as well as security at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The Atlanta Police Department has an authorized strength of 2,000 officers and serves a population of more than 500,000 residents. In 2019, the city received more than 1 million calls for police, fire or medical service.

Chattanooga has 500 officers and serves about 180,000 residents, responding to more than 200,000 calls for service per year, according to the department website.

Murphy is a mother of four children and holds degrees from Syracuse University and Saint Leo University, according to the city. She succeeds Eric Tucker, who served as interim chief following the retirement last year of David Roddy. She was selected over three other finalists - New Orleans Police Department Deputy Superintendent Paul Noel; Troy Price, assistant chief of the Vancouver Police Department in Vancouver, Washington; and Glenn Scruggs, assistant chief in Chattanooga.

The candidates were vetted in a process that included interviews with a community panel and the mayor. There was a public process to identify qualities and priorities for the recruitment, but no opportunity for the public at large to meet the candidates. All four were invited to be interviewed by the Times Free Press, and only Scruggs accepted.

Last year, Murphy was among seven finalists for police chief in Austin, Texas, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Contact Logan Hullinger at lhullinger@timesfreepress.com or 814-319-5158. Follow him on Twitter @LoganHullinger.