PUNTA GORDA, Fla. -- The City of Punta Gorda swore in its first female police chief on Wednesday. Pamela R. Davis replaces former chief Tom Lewis.
The ceremony took place at Wednesday morning's City Council meeting.
During Davis' first 30 to 90 days she plans to assess the entire department, from leadership to policies, training and focusing on community policing.
She is planning a citizens' chief advisory council to provide the community with more access to her office.
Davis also wants officers to increase their exposure -- attending community meetings and getting to know residents.
She's coming from Baltimore, where she was the director of the department's professional development and training academy. Before that, she spent 23 years working her way up the ranks in nearby Anne Arundel county.
Tom Lewis was fired this past August after one of his officers accidentally shot and killed a woman during a training seminar in 2016. He was found not guilty of culpable negligence in the case.
