Sacramento’s first woman police chief retires after 32 years. Here’s what to know

Kathy Lester, the first woman to lead the Sacramento Police Department, retired from the agency Friday after three decades in law enforcement. Her departure marks the end of a four-year tenure that began during one of the most turbulent periods in the department’s history.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Lester announced her retirement after more than 32 years in law enforcement, calling her service to Sacramento “the honor of my career.”

• During her tenure as chief, homicides dropped 22% and shootings dropped 24.7% from 2022 to 2025, while motor vehicle thefts plunged 37% in the same period.

• Lester took over a department in crisis after her predecessor Daniel Hahn left under a cloud following the fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed Black man, which ignited nationwide calls for police reform.

• Just months after Lester was sworn in, six people were killed and 12 injured in the worst mass shooting in Sacramento’s history on K Street, which prosecutors alleged was a standoff between two gangs. The trial for suspects Mtula Payton and Dandrae Martin continue in Sacramento Superior Court.

• Lester was sworn in at Golden 1 Center on March 17, 2022, becoming the 46th police chief and the first woman to lead the department in its 172-year history.

• A Sacramento native, Lester dropped out of Cordova High School, joined the Army at 17 and worked odd jobs before joining the department as a dispatcher in 1994 because it paid double what she was making at the time.

• Lester pledged her department would adopt the “30x30” initiative, aiming to increase the proportion of female sworn officers to 30% by 2030, up from about 17% when she took office.

• Deputy Chief Zachary Bales will serve as interim chief as the city works to close a $66.2 million budget deficit that includes cutting vacant police positions. He was sworn in Friday at City Hall.

This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 1:54 PM.