Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich's pick for chief of police has withdrawn from consideration.
Tonya Chapman had been meeting privately with members of the county council, which would have voted on whether to hire her.
“I think this has been a very long process, and she had spent a lot of time talking to people, and while she didn’t have five votes against her, she didn’t have five votes for her, and I think she thought at this point it wasn’t worth going through more uncertainty,” Elrich said.
In Portsmouth, Virginia, Chapman was the first black woman to lead a city police force in the commonwealth. But she said bias and racist and sexist attitudes forced her departure after three years. In a statement, said she was forced to resign "under duress."
Chapman said racial tension increased in the Portsmouth department after a white former officer was convicted in a black man's death.
"She brought a wealth of experience and knowledge that would have been good for the county," Elrich said in a statement confirming Chapman's decision.
