CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - It’s the start of a new era in the Queen City.

Estella Patterson , the first female police chief for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, took her oath of office Friday morning to take over the department.

Patterson says it feels good to be home, back where she started her law enforcement career in 1996.

“I’m just overwhelmed, overjoyed with this occasion,” Patterson said.

In her formal remarks, Patterson says initially she didn’t know if policing was a job she wanted to pursue. Patterson says she wanted to find a career that allowed her to serve others, and after talking with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police at a job fair, she knew it was the right fit for her.

Patterson is the first black female chief in the department’s history.

WBTV asked Patterson i

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