Durham’s police chief announces retirement. When is her last day?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews will retire May 1, 2026 after 25 years.
- Andrews led the department since 2021 and emphasized violence reduction and community.
- Her retirement follows a social media controversy; the city declined to state reasons.
After over 25 years of law enforcement service, Durham’s police chief is retiring this spring.
Patrice Andrews became the leader of the Durham Police Department in 2021, years after beginning her career at the department in 1997. She served in various roles until 2016 when she became chief of police in Morrisville in Wake County.
A graduate of N.C. Central University, Andrews also graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and the West Point Leadership Academy, according to her online biography. In Durham, she was the second Black woman to serve as the city’s police chief.
Andrews has overseen the Police Department’s roughly 548 officers and over 400 other employees. Last year, the city’s budget included $93 million for the department to tackle crime reduction, staffing shortages and personnel services.
In a news release, City Manager Bo Ferguson said Durham is “deeply grateful” for Andrews’ public service.
“Her leadership has advanced the Police Department’s mission to work with our community to minimize crime, promote safety, and enhance quality of life,” he said. “Our organization looks forward to celebrating her many contributions and years of public service as she concludes her distinguished career in Durham.”
Andrews has spoken out about the department’s violence-reduction efforts in Durham and the challenges of being a woman in law enforcement.
“It’s a balancing act, different than other assignments I’ve had,” she said in 2023. “I try to be very positive, but I’m a mom and that is who I am, always, first ... Women are born with this very nurturing ability, but I think that translates into an ability that we have here as police officers to see different situations with a different light.”
Andrews’ retirement announcement comes months after she was criticized for comments she made on her personal social media account about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed in Utah.
The now deleted post didn’t name Kirk specifically, but Andrews called out Kirk’s rhetoric that “shamed Black women like me, believed gun violence was necessary to preserve the 2nd Amendment and created a culture of divisiveness through hate speech,” she wrote.
The city did not reveal Andrews’ reasons for retirement. Her final day with the Durham Police Department is May 1.
In North Carolina, law enforcement officers can retire with a full pension at age 55 after five years of service, or at any age with 30 years of service.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 9:41 AM with the headline "Durham’s police chief announces retirement. When is her last day?."