Mayor Sarno and Deputy Chief Lawrence Akers, who will serve as the next Police Superintendent, spoke highly of Superintendent Clapprood and the legacy she leaves behind with the numerous programs, initiatives and reforms. Superintendent Clapprood will retire on her 45th anniversary with the Springfield Police Department on April 9, 2024. Deputy Chief Akers will be sworn in as the new Superintendent on April 10th.
Superintendent Clapprood began her career with the Springfield Police Department in 1979 as a cadet. In 1981, she became a sworn officer and in 1987 she was promoted to Sergeant. In 1998, Clapprood was promoted to Lieutenant and appointed Deputy Chief in 2017. She was named as Acting Commissioner in February 2019 by Mayor Sarno, and appointed as the permanent Commissioner in September 2019. Her official title changed to Superintendent in 2022.
Mayor Sarno states, “Bitter-sweet, I will miss her, but she’s ready to call it a career and enjoy her retirement. Throughout her career, Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood served with honor, distinction and with the utmost professionalism. Under her leadership, she has helped to advance and move our Springfield Police Department forward with a wide variety of reforms, initiatives, and programs, all while dealing with the difficult challenges from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, repeat violent criminal offenders and an increase in illegal and ghost guns. Through it all, Superintendent Clapprood stood steadfast and strong, ushering in numerous reforms, initiatives and programs to make our Springfield Police Department the best police department in the country. All of these advancements have helped to enhance police community relations, while also addressing quality of life issues, implementing new policing procedures, strategies and technology. From launching our body-worn camera program (first in the Commonwealth), partnering with Behavioral Health Network to respond with officers for mental health related calls, creating the Firearms Investigation Unit which has taken a record number of illegal and ghost guns off our streets, supporting specialized program such as our popular and successful Citizens Police Academy, and adopting various support, leadership and counseling programs for officers within the Department to help the brave men and women under her command grow into better leaders and supervisors, and help them heal from any physical and mental wounds they may get while serving in the line of duty. Thank you, Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood for your friendship and dedicated service to our Springfield - your positive legacy will live on. On behalf of the City of Springfield, we wish her continued success and good health as she enjoys her well-deserved retirement. God Bless.”
Some highlights of Clapprood's career as Commissioner/Superintendent include:
- Body-worn cameras – first in the State
- Partnering with Behavioral Health Network (BHN) to respond with officers for mental health related calls
- Created the Firearms Investigation Unit – taking a record number of illegal and ghost guns off our streets and out of our neighborhoods
- Supports Citizens Police Academy
- Supports C3 Community Policing initiative
- Supports officers carrying of life-saving Narcan program
- Supports numerous police-community initiatives:
- Shop with a Cop
- Coffee with a Cop
- Back-to-School events
- Trunk or Treat
- Easter Egg Hunt
- Stuff the Cruiser
- National Night Out
- Fishing with a Cop / Cops and Bobbers / Youth Fishing Derby
- Ride to Remember
- Learn to Skate
- Prescription Drug Takeback
- Food donations
- Gun Buyback program
- Peer-to-peer training and counseling for officers
- Professional leadership development training program for supervisors at Babson College led by Springfield native and retired state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roderick Ireland
- Invested in nonlethal restraining devices, BolaWrap, to assist officers and the public from unruly individuals that may be trying to harm themselves or others
- Real Time Crime Analysist Center (RTAC)
