SANTA MONICA—On Friday, October 16, Santa Monica Interim City Manager Lane Dilg and Police Chief Cynthia Renaud announced the Renaud’s retirement, effective Sunday, October 25.
On May 31, over 150 businesses in Santa Monica were vandalized and looted amid George Floyd protests. Over 500,000 individuals signed a petition urging the removal of Santa Monica Police Department Chief Cynthia Renaud.
“Chief Renaud came to Santa Monica in April 2018. After successfully reducing crime in her previous community, she applied those skills in Santa Monica, reducing crime by 16% last year…. However, recognizing that recent events both here in Santa Monica and around the nation have strained community-police relations, Chief Renaud has made the decision to step aside so that the Santa Monica Police Department can continue to move forward,” said the city of Santa Monica in a statement.
“Serving as Chief in Santa Monica has been one of the highlights of my career. I am proud of our record over the past two years in times of unprecedented scrutiny and challenge for law enforcement. In my role as President of the IACP, I will be focused on rebuilding the relationships of trust on which all successful law enforcement is based. I am grateful to the men and women of the Santa Monica Police Department for the honor of leading them and to the City of Santa Monica for choosing me for this opportunity,” said Chief Renaud.
The city announced that former Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks will come out of retirement to serve as Interim Chief of Police starting on Monday, October 26.
