Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce Reflects on Year One, Community Engagement

Rico Boyce stepped into the Raleigh Police Department's top job on March 1, 2025, succeeding retiring Chief Estella Patterson after 25 years working his way through the ranks. A year later, he says the numbers are moving in the right direction, and he points to one driver above all others.

"The more that we can engage and partner, we're going to see the benefits of a safe city, and crime decreasing," Boyce said in a wide-ranging interview on the eve of his one-year anniversary.

Boyce has centered his first year around three declared priorities: community engagement, recruiting and retention, and deploying technology to make the department's 792 sworn officers work more safely and efficiently across a force of more than 900 total personnel. On the community side, that has meant programs like Cops on the Block, camps for children, and Boyce himself returning to his Southeast District roots to play basketball with young people in Raleigh neighborhoods.

Technology has also moved quickly under his leadership. The Raleigh City Council recently approved new technology specifically designed to prevent car accidents during police pursuits, part of Boyce's broader push to modernize how the department operates. As deputy chief, he had already launched the RPD drone program, signaling an appetite for tech-forward policing that carried into his tenure as chief.

The first year was not without its tests. Just last week, two officers were struck by gunfire while the SWAT team executed an arrest warrant. Both returned to duty. "They're fine, but that could have gone a different way," Boyce said. "Very thankful that they're doing well. They're back to duty. They had an opportunity to de-escalate and debrief that situation." Officers arrested the man who allegedly opened fire; he is charged in the road-rage murder of a Garner man.

The incident underscored a tension Boyce addressed directly: supporting his officers while holding them accountable when accusations of wrongdoing arise. He said both are necessary to build the public trust that drives his community-first strategy.

Boyce came to the chief's office with rare institutional depth. He entered the department in 2000 through the 76th Police Academy, eventually working as a patrol officer in the Southeast District, a school resource officer, a gang crimes investigator, and a detective in the financial crimes unit. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from North Carolina Central University and an MBA from Pfeiffer University, and completed the FBI National Academy's 284th session in Quantico.

When City Manager Marchell Adams-David announced his promotion, she called him "the right person for the job, delivering the right combination of leadership, empathy, tactical knowledge, and community connection." The Raleigh Police Protection Association echoed that sentiment. "He's one of us," said RPPA vice president Rick Armstrong. "He came through the ranks. He started off as a recruit back in 2000. He knows the officers, he knows the rank and file, he knows the community."

Boyce was formally sworn in as chief on April 2, 2025, roughly a month after he began his duties. The action plan he referenced at the time, developed in partnership with local, state, and U.S. district attorneys, remains in progress as he heads into year two.