Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday named a new interim chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the city agency tasked with investigating police shootings and allegations of misconduct.
LaKenya White, most recently COPA’s director of investigations, will now lead the agency on an interim basis, the mayor’s office announced in a statement Thursday.
“Her experience speaks for itself in her ability to respond decisively under pressure,” Johnson said in a statement. “White’s institutional knowledge is critical to ensuring a smooth transition. With this appointment, we look forward to continuing COPA’s important work to advance fair, timely and effective accountability within our police department.”
White replaces Andrea Kersten, COPA’s former chief who resigned last month as the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability was set to hold a no-confidence vote that could have triggered her ouster.
White has been a fixture of Chicago’s police oversight apparatus for a quarter century.
In 2000, she joined the Office of Professional Standards, one of COPA’s predecessors, as an intake aide, according to the mayor’s office. Seven years later she worked as an investigator for the Independent Police Review Authority, where she was later promoted to shooting specialist. In 2017, White became a major case specialist at COPA and, later, a supervising investigator.
“COPA is a great agency and a national leader in the field of police oversight,” White said in a statement. “My goal is to build on the agency’s successful work, further strengthening the positive strides we have made while fostering stronger connections between the community and the Chicago Police Department.”
White holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Chicago State University and a master’s in business administration from St. Xavier University with a focus on fraudulent investigations, the mayor’s office said.
The CCPSA — which has oversight over the heads of COPA, the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Police Board — is still conducting a nationwide search for the next permanent COPA chief administrator, the mayor’s office said.
