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A former police chief in Portsmouth, Va., alleges she was forced to leave the force after she attempted to rid the police station of what she called a culture of “systemic racism and discriminatory practices” within the department.

Tonya Chapman wrote a four-page letter explaining her side of the story, “As with any organization, there were officers in the [Portsmouth Police] department that did not like my style of leadership and did not want me to hold them accountable for their actions. Some quite frankly did not like taking direction from an African-American female.”

“I would contend that there were some politically connected individuals that never had confidence in me in the first place,” the ex police chief added.

Chapman became the first Black woman to lead a city police department in Virginia in 2016. This when she claims to lean the “external strife” between police and the community following several officer-involved shootings, according to Chapman statement. Chapman also wrote that racial tensions within the department were “blatantly” clear after a former white officer was convicted in the fatal shooting of a Black man.

“Having been a member of two other law enforcement agencies, I have never witnessed the degree of bias and acts of systemic racism, discriminatory practices and abuse of authority in all of my almost 30 year career in law enforcement and public safety,” she wrote.

Chapman alluded to incidents “so inflammatory” that she declined to make them public “out of concern for public safety,” but would be willing to share the information with the “appropriate government entity.”

The letter was released just a week after the city announced that Chapman had resigned from her position according to The Virginian-Pilot. There was no explanation for Chapman’s departure and City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton has not commented on the matter.

Chapman went on to address the citizens of Portsmouth and recalled a meeting with the city manager on March 18 which says Patton demanded her resignation and said she would fire her if she didn’t comply. The former police chief said Patton offered her two months severance pay if she signed a pre-written resignation letter, which Chapman said she did “under duress.”

“I can assure you that I did not ‘quit’ on the citizens of Portsmouth,” Chapman wrote. “My mother did not raise me to be a quitter. She raised me to be a strong woman. As such, my resignation was not tendered under my own volition. This was a forced resignation and our City Manager was the conduit.”

The city has now named Assistant Chief Angela Greene as the new Interim police chief. Members of Portsmouth NAACP branch are asking city leaders on why Chapman was forced to leave the force.

“This department has continued to perpetuate systemic racism, but now as a branch we’ve come here to encourage our people,” Chapter president James Boyd told WAVY. “Don’t fall behind the pen of a city manager pay attention to the power of those who yield it. Pay attention to those that put pressure on her to make a decision to remove the police chief here in the city of Portsmouth.”

Former city Councilman Mark Whitaker said he was disappointed in the decision with Chapman’s departure.

“This was purely the complaint of a few individuals who have access to the council and executed their desire,” Whitaker told WAVY.

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