William Citty

William (Bill) Citty became Oklahoma City’s 48th Chief of Police on October 24, 2003. He began his career with the Oklahoma City Police Department in 1977, and has worked in Patrol, Narcotics, Homicide, Campus Resource, Tactical Unit, and the Public Information Office over this tenure. 

In 2015, despite financial constraints, Chief Citty championed the effort for a coordinated response and wraparound services to help crime victims. At that time, Oklahoma City sent victims from location to location for services, which was overwhelming and confusing for victims and their children, included extensive travel, and inadvertently hindered victims’ healing. Chief Citty gathered community leaders from the District Attorney’s Office, YWCA, state senators, and the Office of the Attorney General, who agreed that a more coordinated response was needed. 

Chief Citty allocated $52,000 from his budget—when the city budget was extremely tight and under a hiring freeze—to bring in national experts from Alliance for HOPE International to conduct a needs assessment and consult on the development of a domestic violence Family Justice Center (FJC). Shortly thereafter, Chief Citty encouraged his staff to write a $1.3 million VOCA grant to launch an FJC and insisted the program be a public/private partnership for long-term sustainability involving the city, partnering agencies, the community, and nonprofits. 

He provided a significant in-kind match of staff, extensive IT support and equipment, training, office supplies, printing, and public relations support. Alliance for HOPE International estimated it would take 5 years to open the FJC. However, because of Chief Citty’s passion and leadership, Palomar: Oklahoma City’s FCJ, opened February 2, 2017—in only 17 months. 

Chief Citty’s work has changed the framework of Oklahoma City’s response to crime victims, and is saving lives. Since Palomar opened, Oklahoma City has gone almost 6 months without a domestic homicide, a community first. 

Chief Citty is a lifelong Oklahoma City resident and a Northwest Classen High School graduate. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Senior Management Institute for Police, Federal Emergency Management Institute, and the National Executive Institute. He is affiliated with numerous professional organizations and is active in many community groups.