Top black cops: African-American chiefs take the helm in metropolitan America

HAROLD L. HURTT

PHOENIX

Appointed the first African-American chief in April, he returns to the police department where he began his law enforcement career in 1968. Hurtt retired from the Phoenix department in 1992 to accept the chief's post in Oxnard, Calif., he and his wife, Carol, have four children and six grandchildren.

CLARENCE O'NEAL BRADFORD

HOUSTON

A 17-year department veteran and an attorney, he was appointed as chief in 1996 when he was only 41, making him the youngest police chief of a major city at that time. The second African-American chief of police in Houston, he is married to the former Dee Jackson.

ARTHUR L. JONES

MILWAUKEE

He was appointed the city's first African-American chief in 1996. A 30-year veteran with the department, Jones, through his innovative policies, is credited with effectively reducing crime and enhancing the quality of life in Milwaukee. He and his wife, Orelia, have two sons and two grandchildren.

BENNY N. NAPOLEON

DETROIT

At 42, he is one of the youngest police chiefs of a major metropolitan police department. Appointed chief in July, he joined the police department after high school. He is a lawyer and architect of the department's planned reorganization. He is single and lives in Detroit with his daughter.

JAMES GARFIELD JACKSON

COLUMBUS, OHIO

He was named Columbus' first African-American chief in 1990, after becoming the only person to place first on three written promotional exams, for sergeant, captain and deputy chief. He and his wife, Mary, have two sons and five grandchildren.

CHARLES HERBERT RAMSEY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The first chief in three decades selected from outside the 130-year-old department, Ramsey is former deputy superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. He created the nationally acclaimed Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) program. He is divorced and the father of one son, who lives in Chicago.

RONALD HENDERSON

ST. LOUIS

Appointed chief in 1995, he developed a public safety campaign discouraging weapons firing on New Year's Eve. He has served in various capacities during his 27-year law enforcement career. He and his wife, Peggy, have two children.

BEVERLY J. HARVARD

ATLANTA

The first Black woman to head a major metropolitan police department, she was appointed chief of police in 1994. A 22-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department, she began her career as a patrol officer and moved up the ranks. Harvard and her husband, Jim, are the parents of one daughter.

RICHARD J. PENNINGTON

NEW ORLEANS

Appointed in 1994, he started his career with the Washington, D.C., Police Department in 1968. A Vietnam veteran, he has been credited with reducing the city's murder and violent crime rate. He and his wife, Attorney Rene Webb-Pennington, have one son.

WALTER J. WINFREY

MEMPHIS, TENN.

Appointed in 1994, he is a Vietnam veteran and a 30-year police veteran who has completed advanced training with the FBI and Secret Service. His community-oriented policing program is credited with lowering Memphis' crime rate. He and his wife, Mona, are the parents of two children.