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Commissioner Cara Blount

A lifelong resident of Detroit, Cara Blount joined the Detroit Police Department in 1977 and began her 30-year career in the department on patrol in the Thirteenth (Woodward) Precinct. She was promoted to sergeant in 1986. She then worked at the Eighth (Grand River) Precinct, Mini Station Section, the Detroit Metropolitan Police Academy and the Personnel Bureau. In 1994, she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and assigned to the Fifth (Jefferson) Precinct.

In 1995, she became commanding officer of the Tactical Operations Section (Tac Ops). During her four years at Tac Ops, she planned, organized and coordinated logistics for the Grand Prix, Thunderfest Boat Races, Thanksgiving Day Parades and the Red Wings Victory Parades; the visits of President William Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Vice President and Mrs. Al Gore, the Armenian Pope, Michael Jackson, and Winnie Mandela; and the funerals of former Mayor Coleman A. Young and Father William Cunningham. In July, 1998, Lieutenant Blount was appointed to the rank of inspector.

In 1999, she was appointed commander of the Twelfth (Palmer Park) Precinct, with responsibility for all patrol, investigative, community relations and personnel functions. On July 21, 2002, Commander Blount was appointed deputy chief in the Western Operations Bureau, an area with a population of more than 500,000 citizens and more than 1,200 sworn and civilian employees. She remained in charge of Westside patrol operations until July, 2003, when she was appointed the Detroit Police Department's first Compliance Coordinator in charge of the Civil Rights Integrity Bureau. In that capacity, she was the liaison between the city of Detroit, the Detroit Police Department, a court-ordered monitor and the United States Department of Justice.

In January, 2004, she became commanding officer of the Central Services Bureau, with oversight over all major investigative units including Homicide, Sex Crimes, Gang Squad, Armed Robbery, Narcotics and Vice. She retired from the Detroit Police Department in March, 2005. Cara earned her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Detroit in 1974 and an M.S. degree in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University in 1999. She also was an adjunct instructor at Wayne County Community College from 1991-1996 and at Wayne State University from 2000 -2003. She and her husband Michael, a retired Detroit Police sergeant, have four children and five grandchildren.

e-mail: CBlount@2009dcrc.org

link to source: 2009dcrc.org/CommissionerBlount

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