Raleigh police chief bemoans ongoing gun violence as she retires

"It doesn't mean the service is over," she said of stepping down after eight years as police chief. "It doesn't mean that the hard work you've done over the course of your career stops.

"You plant enough seeds, and allow others to cultivate what you've planted," she added.

Yet, Deck-Brown said, the year offered an opportunity to assess where Raleigh police could improve.

"What can I do to make this profession better than it's perceived?" she said, calling law enforcement "a noble profession."

Many police chiefs nationwide have stepped down or have been fired in the past year, she noted, because they didn't want to address long-standing racial injustice.

You have to strategically navigate through that environment with your head and with your heart," she said.

Deck-Brown rose through the ranks of the Raleigh Police Department, but she said she wasn't surprised none of the three finalists for her successor was an insider. City leaders wanted someone with a fresh perspective to look at the department.

"I look forward to being able to pass the torch off to her," Deck-Brown said. "I want to make sure I leave this place in the best possible way I can."

One regret she has is not being able to control the epidemic of gun violence in Raleigh.

"If there is a public health issue in America, it's gun violence," she said. "When do we wake up our conscience and say enough is enough?"

"If you live in the city of Raleigh, this is affecting you. This is your city," she said.