Kansas City’s Board of Police Commissioners has chosen Deputy Chief Stacey Graves as the new Chief of Police.

Graves is a 25-year department veteran and has served in a number of roles with the department, mostly recently as Commander of the Patrol Bureau overseeing the over 900 sworn and 109 non-sworn department positions. She began her career with KCPD as a civilian records clerk in 1997.

Graves succeeds Interim Chief Joseph Mabin and former Chief Rick Smith who retired last March. She is the first woman in the department’s 148 year history to be named as permanent chief.

Graves  will be sworn in later today.