Schaaf chose Anne Kirkpatrick from Chicago's police department.
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Kirkpatrick will be the first female police chief in Oakland's history.
Kirkpatrick was the former police chief in Spokane, Washington and was picked by Chicago's police superintendent to head the department's new bureau of professional standards, last year.
Kirkpatrick is a Memphis native and a lawyer.
Some insiders expected Schaaf to choose a woman after saying she was here to run a police department, not a "frat house."