Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood Retires after 45 Years
Springfield, Mass. — Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood retired today after serving the city of Springfield for 45 years. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno named Clapprood, who was born and raised in Springfield, the Acting Police Commissioner on February 21st, 2019 and appointed her to the permanent position on September 20th, 2019. She was sworn in during a ceremony at Symphony Hall on October 8th, 2019. Her official title changed to Superintendent in 2022.
Clapprood leaves a lasting mark on the Springfield Police Department. In 2019 she outfitted her officers with Narcan and to date they have saved more than 550 lives using the opioid overdose reversal drug. Also in 2019, Clapprood began a now-expanded program that added a BHN clincian to our Metro Unit and the clinician and officers co-respond to mental health or crisis calls.
In 2020, Clapprood launched the Springfield Police Body-Worn Camera Program. The largest department in the state at the time to have all officers wear body-cameras. This has led to a significant decrease in complaints against officers and has helped aid in prosecutions.
A year later, with gun violence in inner-cities in the rise, Clapprood created a Firearms Investigation Unit. This Unit alone has seized more than 400 illegal firerms in less than three years. The department as a whole has twice broken the record-amount of illegal firearms seized in a single year with 347 recovered in 2023.
During her tenure leading the department, Clapprood has made Supervisor training a priority, launched the official department website (www.springfieldmapolice.com) to increase transparency, restarted the department’s annual awards ceremony to honor officers for their dedicated service and she authored a childrens book (“Kacey, a Bee and a Tree”) colloborating with students from the White Street Elementary School.
Superintendent Clapprood stated, “I am proud of the work we have done as a department in these past five years. The women and men who come to work everyday deserve the credit for guiding us through some difficult times and do not deserve the stigma that a bad incident or two many moons ago left on the department. Thank you Mayor Sarno and family for your confidence and support. Thank you Command Staff and office staff, civilian support staff and all those dedicated to the mission of the police department, the daily work, the technological support, the building and vehicle maintenance and Supervisors and Women and Men on patrol and investigations. I wish incoming Superintendent Akers to best of the luck and in retirement I will become the department’s biggest fan.”
Incoming Superintendent Lawrence Akers stated, “I’m not sure how many leaders could have could have accomplished what Superintendent Clapprood has in the past five years. She led this department through a worldwide pandemic, a nationwide protest in the wake of George Floyd’s death, she spent hundreds of hours working with the Department of Justice to improve our policies and build trust throughout our community and leaves this department on our own accord. I wish her health and happiness in her retirement and I look forward to building on the positive momentum she has helped create at the department.”
Mayor Sarno states, “Throughout her career, Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood served with honor, distinction and with the utmost professionalism. Under her leadership, she has helped to advance and move our Springfield Police Department forward with a wide variety of reforms, initiatives, and programs, all while dealing with the difficult challenges from the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, repeat violent criminal offenders and an increase in illegal and ghost guns. Through it all, Superintendent Clapprood stood steadfast and strong, ushering in numerous reforms, initiatives and programs to make our Springfield Police Department the best police department in the country. All of these advancements have helped to enhance police community relations, while also addressing quality of life issues, implementing new policing procedures, strategies and technology. From launching our body-worn camera program (first in the Commonwealth), partnering with Behavioral Health Network to respond with officers for mental health related calls, creating the Firearms Investigation Unit which has taken a record number of illegal and ghost guns off our streets, supporting specialized program such as our popular and successful Citizens Police Academy, and adopting various support, leadership and counseling programs for officers within the Department to help the brave men and women under her command grow into better leaders and supervisors, and help them heal from any physical and mental wounds they may get while serving in the line of duty. Thank you, Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood for your friendship and dedicated service to our Springfield – your positive legacy will live on. On behalf of the City of Springfield, we wish her continued success and good health as she enjoys her well-deserved retirement. God Bless.”
Superintendent Clapprood began her career in law enforcement on April 9th, 1979 when she became a Springfield Police Cadet. On October 19th, 1981 she entered into the Police Academy and became a sworn officer.
In September 1987, then Officer Clapprood was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Eleven years later she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, a supervisory position she held until October 2010 when she received another promotion. Captain Clapprood continued rising the ranks and was appointed Deputy Chief in July 2017.
Superintendent Clapprood has a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Western New England College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Westfield State College and an Associate Degree in Law Enforcement from Springfield Technical Community College. Clapprood also served as an adjunct professor at Western New England College from 2000 to 2009. She was inducted into the Westfield State Criminal Justice Hall of Fame in 2024.
Prior to becoming a Springfield Police Officer, Superintendent Clapprood served in the United States Air Force both in active and reserve status from 1978 until her honorable discharge in 1984.
In her 45 years of service to the City of Springfield, Superintendent Clapprood has worked as an undercover narcotics officer, a Special Victims Unit supervisor, street supervisor and watch commander, among other roles within the Springfield Police Department.
Clapprood’s lasting mark in the community has been through her volunteerism and mentoring. She created and organized the Springfield Police Youth Athletic Association in 1994, coached numerous teams and runs the Stephen O’Brien Memorial Learn to Skate program which began in 1996 and continues to this day each winter.
