RICHLAND, Wash. – Chief of Police Brigit Clary has decades of law enforcement experience under her belt all over the northwest. It’s long been a goal to make it eastward and at this point she’s just over a year into the job.
Richland Police Chief Brigit Clary has lead the department through quite a few big crimes, already. Namely, the Fred Meyer shooting that happened in early 2022.
“We’ve been busy,” said Chief Brigit Clary. ” A lot to do. I feel like we haven’t stopped to take a breath.”
In her role she is working to keep the staff grounded and happy to be at work. She says that leads to better service for the community, as a whole. Personally, she says she spends as much time outside as she can in eastern Washington’s abundant sunshine.
According to the 30 by 30 Initiative only 3% of leadership roles in police work are women. That puts Chief Clary in a tiny percentage of law enforcement officers around the nation. She made history as the first-ever female to lead RPD.
“It doesn’t define me but I have to also recognize that it is important for young women and girls to see women in leadership positions. Maybe they’ll have a thought they wouldn’t normall have, that they see someone in that position and think, oh I could do that, too.”
