Police Chief Kirkpatrick to leave Jan. 2

Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick confirmed Friday that she will not wait for a new chief to be hired and will leave at the first of the year.

Kirkpatrick has said as late as Nov. 4 that she would stay through the first few months of the year as the city searched for a new chief.

But on Nov. 6, she sent a letter to Mayor Mary Verner announcing a departure date of Jan. 2.

“My family’s a priority and I’m at a great age for new things,” Kirkpatrick, 52, said in an interview Friday.

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