(Coutesy Phoenix Police Department) Jeri Williams

After a nine-month search, the Phoenix city manager announced the selection for a new police chief. City Manager Ed Zuercher selected Jeri Williams to lead the Phoenix Police department.

Williams is a 22-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department where she rose through the ranks from police trainee to eventually becoming assistant chief in 2009. She spent the past five years as chief of police in Oxnard, California where she focused on community-based policing and oversaw the implementation of body cameras.

Mayor Greg Stanton praised Williams for knowing the department well— "She both knows the City of Phoenix having grown up here and of course, raised a family here, and of course she know this department inside and out having served in virtually every leadership capacity the department has."

In a public forum with other finalists for the position in June, Williams stressed the importance of police departments learning to deal with mental health issues.

City Manager Ed Zuercher led the search to replace current Chief Joe Yahner, who will retire in October.

Williams will oversee nearly 4,000 employees, including more than 2,600 sworn officers, in her new role. She will become the second African American Police Chief in the city’s history and the first woman to the hold the position.