MAY 2017 12 | FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM Pictured left to right: Alan, Jeri, Cody Sr. and Cody Jr. Jeri, the first woman and the second African-American to become Phoenix police chief, was sworn in last October after five years leading the police department in Oxnard, Calif. She came into that position as a 44-year- old outsider and emerged from Oxnard as “one of the most admired public servants in Ventura County,” Rev. Clyde W. Oden COVER STORY CONTINUED Jr., of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, in an told the Ventura County Star as Jeri was leaving Oxnard to return to Phoenix. Jeri “meant so much to the community both in terms of how she carried herself and how she carried the department,” Oden told the paper. “She had credibility.” An ordained minister, Jeri has preached at the church. She was also lauded by the Oxnard mayor, Tim Flynn, during a farewell at a city council meeting there. “I don’t know how you did it, Flynn told Williams during the meeting, the Star wrote. “How can you be a good mother to your sons and be the kind of police chief that you are? It’s a testament that she is being selected as police chief in one of the largest cities in the United States.” Returning to Phoenix, Jeri, a Maryvale High School alumnus, was sworn in as ALAN: We’ve done everything from breakfast in bed to, I think, we all went on a vacation one time. This Mother’s Day I can’t give away any secrets but it will be special for sure. She always has to remind me of when Mother’s Day is so I don’t forget. It’s a day to celebrate her and my grandmother who has passed away. The matriarchs in our family have been tremendous and influential. fast break 1 On Mother’s Day

MAY 2017 FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM | 13 chief by her husband, a former Phoenix city councilman, Judge Cody Williams of the South Mountain Justice Court. Before her time in Oxnard, Jeri spent two decades climbing the ladder in the Phoenix Police Department. She rode bicycle patrol when she was pregnant with her second son, Cody Jr. Jeri was promoted to assistant chief in 2009. Now, leading the department, she oversees nearly 4,000 employees and operates a $475 million budget. In a 2016 interview, Jeri told the New York Times she wears a bulletproof vest out of a promise she made to Alan when he was a child. He had watched an episode of “Cops” and, in tears, asked her if she was going to get hurt on the job. She still wears it to this day. The police chief fought back emotions in that interview after she learned that Alan developed a ritual before games in which he seeks out police officers working at the arena and shakes their hands to thank them. Beyond the dangers that go along with being the city’s top cop, Alan has other concerns. “My worry for her is what the job brings,” he said. “It’s a great thing, it’s community service but at the end of the day it’s a lot of pressure and it’s a lot of responsibilities, and it’s a lot of outside influences that always want something.” He went on: “So it’s just making sure she’s not taken advantage of and making sure that she’s happy. Being happy is a huge thing and if she’s not happy she shouldn’t be doing it. But overall, as long as she understands that this is her calling and that’s what God put her on this earth to do, and she’s happy with it, then that’s what I like.” Jeri has a different set of worries for her son. She wonders what will happen when playing basketball is no longer fun for him. “What happens on the day that’s it’s over? I worry about what that next step for him is going to be,” she said. “He’s extremely charming, extremely articulate. It has to be something in the public eye, I don’t know what that is, is it being mayor, being a congressman? Heck, is it being head coach of a basketball team? I don’t know what it is but I’m concerned about that day when this part of it is over.” Getting children involved in volunteering definitely helps them develop empathy, which will impact their lives for years to come.” COVER STORY CONTINUED