On Thursday, the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) selected LaKenya White to lead the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA).
“COPA’s work requires leadership that understands both the technical demands of complex investigations and the human impact those investigations have on families, officers, and communities. LaKenya has spent her career inside Chicago’s police accountability system, and she understands how this agency operates at every level. That depth of experience is exactly what COPA needs in the next Chief Administrator,” CCPSA President Remel Terry said in a press statement.
CCPSA commissioners voted unanimously to approve White’s nomination during a public meeting on Jan. 29.
“LaKenya knows this work, in this City, in a way that very few people do. She understands what it takes to run complex investigations well, support staff doing difficult work, and keep the agency focused on its mission. The Commission has confidence in her ability to lead COPA and looks forward to presenting our nominee to the Chicago City Council for consideration,” Commissioner Aaron Gottlieb said in a press release.
White, a Chicago native, has more than 25 years of experience in civilian oversight and has worked in multiple roles within the city’s accountability systems, including the Office of Professional Standards and the Independent Police Review Authority.
COPA is an independent agency that was founded in 2017 in the aftermath of the police killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
The agency is responsible for investigating and making disciplinary recommendations in all instances where a Chicago police officer fires a weapon or when a person dies or is injured while in police custody. In addition, the oversight agency investigates allegations of misconduct by police officers, including excessive force, sexual misconduct, improper searches, bias-based verbal abuse and unlawful denial of counsel.
Thursday’s announcement follows a nationwide search process that kicked off after the previous COPA Chief, Andrea Kersten, resigned last February. Mayor Brandon Johnson tapped White to serve as COPA’s interim Chief in March 2025.
In total, the CCPSA received more than 20 applications from candidates across the U.S.
Mayor Brandon Johnson now has 30 days to submit written input on White’s nomination. After that, the City Council’s Police and Fire Committee will hold a public meeting and vote on whether to move the nomination forward. If the committee approves it, White’s nomination will head to the City Council for a final vote. If alders don’t approve White’s nomination, the commission has 30 days to select a new nominee.
CCPSA’s powers include evaluating the performance of the police superintendent, any member of the police board, or the COPA chief administrator. In addition, the commission can also recommend candidates for the Chicago Police Board, but the mayor still retains the power to hire and fire the police superintendent and Chicago Police Board members. However, the commission does have the power to hire and fire the COPA head.
In 2023, the CCPSA tapped then-Chicago Police Chief Larry Snelling to head the department. It was the first time a selection of a Chicago police superintendent was managed by a civilian body that is entirely independent of the mayor’s office.
