CLEVELAND — On February 29, 2024, Dorothy Todd, who goes by Annie, was sworn in as the new chief of the Cleveland Division of Police.
Out of 1,167 police officers, there are only 200 women. Todd, is one of them, and only the second woman in the department's history to be named as chief.
On Monday, 3News' Lindsay Buckingham sat down for a one-on-one with Chief Todd to talk about what the role means to her, and what she wants in the future for Cleveland police. See the full interview transcript, below.
LINDSAY:
"You are the second female in this department's history to lead. How does that feel?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"It's amazing. So, a couple days ago, last week it was, I was in a meeting and I came out of a meeting and there was a nice bouquet of flowers. And I said, 'Well, that's really nice.' I did ask the girl in the office, 'Do you know where they came from?' And she said, 'No.' So I opened the card and it was from Mary Bounds, who was the first female chief, and she said, 'Finally, another female.' So it was, you know, it really, really meant a lot to me that she had taken the time and done that."
LINDSAY:
"You mentioned last week that this promotion was for your daughter. What did you mean by that?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"So, I was a single mom when I got on this job and, you know, I started as a traffic controller, as I had talked about, and it was just my daughter and I, and she was about six years old. I was working four different jobs before I got on with the police department, and she has been by my side, never a complaint. I worked night shift most of my career when I was in patrol, and she would get up in the middle of the night to come home, you know, to go to the sitter, and then I would pick her up and bring her home. And I was just talking about a story recently, you know, at one time I worked, eight at night till' four in the morning was my shift. So I would get off at four, pick her up, and we had come home and she would usually go back to sleep before school.
"And it was a meteor shower that night, and we pulled in the driveway and we sat in the driveway and watched the meteors before we went in the house, went back to bed. So she's really been tolerant of my work schedule. I tried to never let it impact her and to make her the priority. And I didn't take promotional exams until she was outta high school. And then once she was outta high school, I figured I did my part and I, you know, raised a strong woman. And then it was time to focus on my career."
LINDSAY:
"That pride that you have for your job, do you think that'll help you with some challenges that you have in your tenure as a chief?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"Absolutely. Policing is a huge responsibility. There is a lot of power that is in policing, and I think that we always have to take that into consideration, whether it be something minor as a traffic stop on whether or not a citation is issued. Because that citation really impacts that person. And, I've always felt that I needed to look at the entire picture. I needed to look at that person that I was dealing with and what impact my actions would have on that person. So it's important to really understand, for all our men and women to understand and appreciate, what the role of being a police officer is. And, we make a big impact on the community. You know, we are what they look to for their safety and security."
LINDSAY:
"When you look at what's ahead, what do you think your biggest challenges are?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"So as far as challenges, you know, violent crime's always gonna be a challenge. That is something that we have to always rethink how we respond to it. And we have to make sure that we have the proper tools that are in place for our officers who are out there to make sure that they can be successful in what they're doing. And that is probably the biggest challenge for most law enforcement agencies. That, and then you look at the recruitment a little bit. The message on policing has seemed to be getting better, but, we want to make sure to show the community that police officers are just everyday people and that anyone really could take this role and they, you know, can be a part of the change for the community."
LINDSAY:
"What would you say to some of those community members who are sort of afraid to come downtown?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"So we are here to support them. And we are here to make sure that we provide a blooming downtown. You know, downtown is the center of Cleveland, and we wanna make sure that everyone doesn't have to think about that when they come downtown. They're coming down here to enjoy whatever event they're here for."
LINDSAY:
"There has been some talk about like the shortage of police officers recently. Where do you stand with that? Where do you see it going in the next year?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"We've seen some positive changes recently with our recruitment efforts. We have seen a lot of, with a big recruitment event that was held, we saw a lot of renewed interest in policing. And Mayor Bibb has given the officers a significant raise; he's also put in the 12 hour shifts, and he's doing everything to make sure that the division of police is successful. And with that, I'm hoping that this will change our numbers. With the current numbers we are staffed at, we're still answering the same calls for service. We still have the same amount of cars on the road. When the term "short staffed" is used, it kind of makes me a little leery because I think that gives the wrong message to the community. I think that shows that there's less police out there and that really isn't the case. We still have staffing numbers that we maintain, no matter what our numbers are. So the higher the staffing, maybe the less mandates we have, you know, it just may impact the overtime a little bit, but we still have that same coverage no matter what our numbers are."
LINDSAY:
"What has been the most surreal moment so far of being chief?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"It's just another day at work for me. I guess that in every position I've been in, I never look at it as, 'Oh my goodness, I'm the chief of police.' It's just, we're all the same. You know, I appreciate every man and woman out there, every officer who is doing out there, you know, the hard work for the city every day. I'm not any different than them. I just have a different job, I have a different role here in the division of police. But we're all the same. I wanna make sure that I'm helping them be successful, giving them the tools. I've always had, you know, this open door policy because some people relate to other people differently and you don't know what talent is out there, you know, already in the division of police, there's a future chief there somewhere. So, I hope that I can just be supportive enough to let them, you know, be the best they can be and show them that anyone with hard work can succeed and reach their goals."
LINDSAY:
"Is there anything different now in this role that kind of keeps you up at night?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"Everything keeps me up at night. I am about action. I've always been a lead from the front person. I can't sit back and, you know, give orders without being there first and front to see what actually the impact it has. So that is probably the most difficult part, is being able to make sure that I am supportive of our officers. There's so many of them. Everyone works a lot of different hours. And to be able to touch and talk to and let them know that I support them is gonna be, probably the most challenging portion. Because, you're only one person. And to be able to connect to everyone is a little bit challenging."
LINDSAY:
"It's a big responsibility to gain trust from someone who's struggling or fearful. Is that kind of a big message you'd want to deliver to the city right now as you take over? Just that you're here to help?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"Absolutely. That's what we're here for. That's every day the officers go by, you know, they, they come to work, they do their job, and it's a thankless job a lot of times, and nobody knows all the good things that happened. They're not on the news talking about this great story, this great impact they had on somebody, or that they helped change someone's tire or went and bought food for some family. You know, those stories go unnoticed every day. But the men and women out here, they do it day in and day out, you know, they care about the community and they don't get the recognition for it, and there's a lot more criticism, and I hope that we can start bringing forward the good work that they're doing every day."
LINDSAY:
"You've mentioned you're trying really hard to bridge the gap between police officers and community. What would you say to sort of invite them to be a part of the change?"
CHIEF ANNIE TODD:
"Well, it starts from the top. We had the same mayor for a long time, and Mayor Bibb came in and he's young, he's energetic, and he's given us all the tools to be successful here. And, the officers, they're young and they're just everyday people just like everyone else. And they're trying to make sure that they are providing a safe environment and they're here to help and they're here to make sure that people feel safe and secure in their homes and neighborhoods. And everyone, wide variety of men and women that are, you know, employed here. And I'm hoping that they see that we're just all part of one community."
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