Assistant Chief Jessica Robledo announced her retirement from the Austin Police Department. Technically, her last day is this Friday, Sept. 2, though word around the department is that the assistant chief has been largely inactive since midsummer. Robledo, who joined the force in 1988, was appointed assistant chief in Sept. 2013. She was the department’s first Hispanic assistant chief and the only woman at the executive level during her tenure. She received her appointment upon the retirement of Patti Robinson, the only other woman to serve as an assistant chief under APD’s current administration. The department does not currently employ any women in its commander rank – as of May 2016, there were 18 commanders at APD – though Robledo’s tenure as commander lasted only one day before she was appointed an assistant chief. (Prior to that she spent four-and-a-half years as a lieutenant. Frank Dixon, the most recent AC appointee, was also summoned to the Fifth Floor while a lieutenant, bypassing the commander rank.) Chief Art Acevedo has indicated that Region 2 District Commander Joseph Chacon will replace Robledo upon her official retirement on Friday.
This article appears in September 2 • 2016.