COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Mayor Andrew Ginther officially announced Elaine Bryant is the new chief of the Columbus Division of Police.

Bryant appeared next to Ginther and Safety Director Ned Pettus at the announcement Wednesday.

With her mother looking on in the audience, Bryant said her 21-year career has been both rewarding and heartbreaking.

Nevertheless, she said has always been a passionate peace officer and said it will “take all of us” to tackle the challenges that face Columbus going forward.

In her first address to CPD officers, Bryant said that establishing trust between police and community members is the first order of business under her leadership.

She also said citizens and police “cannot be afraid of the changes that must be made,” to decrease inequality and violence in the city.

Bryant, 48, comes to Columbus after serving as a deputy chief in Detroit, where she oversaw a group of precincts. She previously was a commander in professional standards, a captain in the homicide division, a lieutenant who handled community relations and a sergeant who worked in the domestic violence division.

Bryant received her master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Bowling Green State University in 2019.

She becomes Columbus’ second female chief, after Kim Jacobs, who served from 2012 to ’19, and its second Black chief, after James Jackson, who served from 1990 to 2009. She is the first chief to be selected from outside the Division of Police.