Rick Edwards became Richmond’s permanent chief of police in July. (Photo courtesy Richmond Police Department)
Richmond’s interim police chief is now the department’s full-time leader.
A nationwide search that began in March ended in mid-July with the selection of Rick Edwards, who has nearly 24 years of experience with the Richmond Police Department. Edwards was made interim chief in October after Chief Gerald Smith resigned following claims, later discredited, that the department thwarted a mass shooting plot at Dogwood Dell on July 4, 2022.
That same month, Richmond City Council allowed its employees to collectively bargain; in May, members of the department voted to enter contract negotiations with the city through the Richmond Coalition of Police. Its vice president, Carl Scott, who was part of the selection committee, said the independent union was looking forward to working with Edwards “in making the agency equitable and fair for our officers while developing better community relations.”
The contract negotiations are occurring as the department continues to fill vacancies that in 2022 exceeded 130 positions. At a quarterly crime report presentation in July, Edwards noted that RPD had seen a 74% increase in applications compared to the first half of 2022 and that it had recently rehired 10 former Richmond officers and was looking forward to the graduation of its latest police academy class in August. “We still need that manpower,” he said, “and we’re still building our agency back.”
In announcing Edwards as chief, a city press release noted he “has worked tirelessly to re-establish trust both within the department and the community [and] implemented new core values, updated policies and initiated the new body-worn camera release policy.” That sentiment was echoed by James Minor, president of the Richmond chapter of the NAACP and a member of the interview panel, who said Edwards has “made a concerted effort to re-engage with the community at all levels. He was intentional in reaching out not just to the NAACP but other organizations to have authentic conversations about hard topics. This is the type of leader we need for the police department and for our community.”
