Meet NYC Police Depart’s First African American Female Assistant Chief, Kim Y. Royster
Assistant Chief Kim Y. Royster began her career with the New York City Police Department in January 1985 as a Police Administrative Aide. She was sworn in as a Police Officer in July 1987, and was assigned to the 13th Precinct. She was promoted to Detective in March 1992; Sergeant in October 1997; Sergeant Special Assignment in December 2001; Lieutenant in April 2002; Captain in August 2006; Deputy Inspector in August 2009; Inspector in March 2012; Deputy Chief in October 2013 and Assistant Chief in August 2015. She has served in the Police Academy, the 5th and 13th Precincts, the 7th Precinct Detective Squad, Patrol Borough Manhattan South, the Office of Management Analysis and Planning (OMAP), Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI), Detective Borough Manhattan, Detective Borough Brooklyn, the Intelligence Division, the Internal Affairs Bureau and the Criminal Justice Bureau. Assistant Chief Royster most recently served as the Com manding Officer of the Public Information Division and is currently the Commanding Officer of the Personnel Bureau’s Candidate Assessment Division. She is the third African American female to hold the rank of deputy chief and the first to hold the rank of assistant chief in NYPD history. While assigned to DCPI, the office received a Unit Citation for the outstanding performance in 2011 for the coordination of media coverage/requests of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and the President’s historical visit to the 1st Precinct and Ground Zero. Also during her tenure at DCPI, the Department developed official social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and the NYPD iPhone application. Assistant Chief Royster has also commanded the Manhattan South Investigations Unit and served as the Executive Officer of the 5th Precinct. While assigned to OMAP, Assistant Chief Royster served as a project team leader in the Resource Analysis Section. In this capacity, she helped to conceptualize and manage numerous programs that have served to reduce crime and improve police/community relations across New York City. Of particular note is the NYPD Gun Buyback Program, a series of one-day gun amnesty events. Since its inception in July 2008, the program has been a success with a total of over 10,000 firearms surrendered. For her efforts in managing this program, Assistant Chief Royster was awarded the NYC Police Foundation’s Hemmerdinger Award and the New York Post Liberty Medal. Assistant Chief Royster holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from St. Josephs College and is a 2011 graduate of the Police Management Institute at Columbia University. Assistant Chief Royster is married to Gregory Thomas. They are the proud parents of two children: Joseph and Tyler.