An East Carolina University graduate recently became the first black female police chief in Raleigh history.

Cassandra Deck-Brown, who graduated from ECU in 1987 with a criminal justice major and social work minor, was promoted from deputy chief Feb. 1. Following a nationwide search, she was selected from a pool of 48 applicants.

Deck-Brown, who’s been with the department since her graduation, said she didn’t originally intend to become an officer and completed a college internship in probation and parole in Pitt County.

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