Vicki Foster, highest-ranking woman officer in CMPD history, has died
For Vicki Foster, helping people in distress was the best part of being a police officer.
“You can calm them down, or you can even resolve their issue,” Foster told Queen City News in April, reflecting on her decades-long career with the department in which she rose from patrol officer to sergeant, captain, major, deputy chief and assistant chief. “And it’s a different level of helping people, because the people that call us are in complete distress.”
Foster, retired Charlotte-Mecklenburg assistant police chief and highest-ranking woman officer in CMPD history, died on Friday surrounded by family and friends. She was 56.
Foster “was a dear friend, and it was an honor for me to know her for the past 30 years,” CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said on social media site X late Friday.
“I was saddened and hurt by the news of her passing today and will pray for her family during this time,” Jennings said. “She will truly be missed.”
Anti-crime initiatives
Foster was from Yanceyville, about 40 miles northeast of Greensboro.
CMPD hired her in 1991, and she spent many years in the Westover Division, “known as one of the toughest areas in the city,” Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported. Foster developed anti-crime initiatives throughout her career, including a 2008 pilot larceny from auto program.
As a result, monthly car break-ins fell in some areas by more than 60% from 2008 to 2009, The Charlotte Observer reported.
“(Thefts from vehicles have) not been a focus for a long time,” Foster said at the time. “This is a focus now. We’re trying to give equal attention to property crime.”
In 2012, after a spike in violent crime, Foster came up with the idea for “Firearm by Felon,” which encouraged people to anonymously call police if they saw a felon with a gun.
The effort netted 69 arrests and at least 100 guns, police said at a news conference in 2015.
“We’d seen a lot of instances of violent crime and tried to figure out a way for the community to get involved,” Foster said. “The people in the community, they do know” the armed felons in their neighborhoods.
“Our goal is to get the gun off the street,” she said.
And in 2017, Foster cited department initiatives in the year after the fatal shooting of Keith Scott by a CMPD officer. The killing sparked unrest and drew international media attention.
Addressing an audience at The Mint Museum, Foster said CMPD worked hard over the year to improve transparency, reach out to young people and train officers against bias that could affect their work.
Still, she said, “we’re at a place where, whatever we do, it’s not going to be enough ... I’m not here to say we’ve done everything, but we’ve done a lot.”
Foster “was an innovative leader and a consummate public servant with a true heart for victims of crime and for our community’s young people,” Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said on Facebook Saturday.
“She was an exemplary partner for so many prosecutors in the DA’s Office,” he said. “We are shocked by the news of her passing and pray that family, friends, and colleagues will find comfort in her memory.”
In a statement Saturday, Sheriff Garry McFadden said Foster’s “remarkable achievements and dedication to public service left an incredible mark on the law enforcement profession.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Vicki Foster’s family, friends, and CMPD colleagues during this difficult time,” McFadden said.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete Saturday.
This story was originally published July 27, 2025 at 6:00 AM.