‘Beacon of Integrity’ McAlister Retires from Purcellville Police

The police community from across Northern Virginia, elected officials and town residents gathered Friday afternoon at Purcellville Baptist Church to say thank you to retiring Purcellville Police Chief Cynthia McAlister who has served in the position for nearly 9 years.

Mayor Stanley J. Milan said McAlister had led the department to be more than just enforcers of the law—making it “a pillar of support and trust” within the community.

“Her dedication to upholding the law, finding community relationships and implementing innovative strategies has made a lasting impact on our town,” he said.

County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) also praised McAlister’s service and said the community trust that she spent nearly a decade building had personally affected Randall in 2020 when 1,000 people gathered in town for a march following the death of George Floyd.

“We start marching down Main Street and down the street there is that gun shop, right? And there were people out in front of the gun shop, and they were literally holding really disparaging signs and the whole point of that was just to just kind of incite the crowd,” Randall said, adding that McAlister stood in front of the shop and encouraged the marchers to continue without reacting.

When the crowd reached the Town Hall there were some marchers who began shouting disparaging remarks at McAlister.

“I thought, ‘this could be very bad.’” Randall said. “And the most amazing thing happened, a young African American male stepped up to the microphone and he goes, ‘Oh, no, not our chief. She told us to come here today. She told us she would help us with this march. She has always stood right beside us. She has always believed in justice. You can yell at somebody else. But you cannot yell at our chief.”

Randall said that action spoke volumes about the relationship that McAlister had built with residents.

McAlister’s daughter, Dani, also spoke during the ceremony, saying she had a front row seat to the life of service her mother had lived.

“For my whole life it has been evident that protecting and serving our community is paramount to her core values, and our community has been lucky to have you,” she said. “… You're forever the model of who I want to be as a person. I look up to you in more ways than I can count.”

Lieutenant Barry Dufek presented McAlister with her retirement credentials and said her legacy was defined by the police officers and community that she had uplifted.

“Throughout her distinguished Chief McAlister has been a beacon of integrity, a champion of justice, and a tireless advocate for the safety and the well-being of all of us citizens,” he said.

McAlister’s history of law enforcement goes back long before her time at Purcellville beginning 42 years ago at the Fairfax County Police Department.

She was working for the county’s finance department in 1982 when she stopped by the water fountain and saw a recruitment sign for the police department.

“I was like, hmm, maybe I could do that,” McAlister recalled.

Three months later she was the department’s newest officer.

“There were so many times I would pinch myself like I can't believe they pay me to do this,” she said.

That was the beginning of a career that would uniquely prepare her for the role of a small-town police chief by giving her the opportunity to see every aspect of law enforcement. During her time with Fairfax, McAlister served as a patrol officer, crime prevention officer and public information officer doing interviews on television.

“I was petrified to talk on camera or do any public speaking,” McAlister said. “I was mainly the Crime Solvers person, so I did that. I would go to Channel 9 and Channel 7. I would go down there on Tuesdays and I would do my thing and then sometimes I would go on Wednesday. When we did the 'America's Most Wanted.' We would go down there and we would take the calls.”

From there, McAlister became a detective working in juvenile crimes, but when her son was born she decided to pursue a path that would give her more financial stability for the future—the promotional route.

Over the next few years, she advanced to sergeant, lieutenant and commander. She worked with animal control, stood in as acting director and served as aide to the chief.

“There I learned a lot because I was in the chief’s office,” she said. “I worked with Board of Supervisors members, worked with major cities chiefs, and had a lot of opportunity to see a lot there.”

McAlister graduated from the FBI National Academy, served as director of the Fairfax Criminal Justice Academy for three years, worked with the Resource Management Bureau, was promoted to major and oversaw various stations in Fairfax.

After 34 years, she decided it was time for a change and saw a posting for Purcellville’s police chief.

“You come in and you sit right in the hot seat,” she said about interviewing for the position. “I just I remember, Brian Bell from Blue Ridge [Middle School] was there, the pastor from Agape Church was there, [then-mayor] Kwasi Fraser of course, was there. [Then Town Manager] Rob Lohr sat on the end; a couple of officers sat over here. So, it was a mix of elected officials, community members, and officers. But it was the most comfortable interview ever in my whole life. And it was almost surreal that it was so comfortable.”

McAlister said she thought all her different experiences had prepared to be able to make a difference on the small-town level.

“I think I can add a lot and I'm told that they selected me unanimously, and it was just easy,” she said. “Then I got here, and it wasn't so easy. There were so many things here that weren't done.”

Not one to back down from a challenge, McAlister got to work implementing processes and standards and enhancing training at the station. It was an uphill battle, she said, calling the state of the department “a bit of a good old boys” club.

“The level of professionalism, not to knock any of the officers who were here, but I knew we could be better,” she said.

She said she remembers praying one night asking God for a way to help her superiors understand all the work that needed to be done.

McAlister said the answer came differently than she was expecting when in 2017 she was caught up in the town’s management scandal. Starting in October 2017, she faced allegations of misconduct by Interim Town Manager Alex Vanegas and was placed on leave and then fired after a “no confidence" vote by the Town Council. She was reinstated to her post three weeks later, but remained on leave until November 2018 when an independent investigation exonerated her, finding Vanegas and a hired human resources consultant had misled the council. Vanegas was fired as a result. A $16 million lawsuit she filed against the staff members involved with the case was settled out of court in 2020.

“I guess the lesson I learned was when you ask God to help you, you know, just do it with a little more direction,” McAlister said with a laugh.

“It was it was a dark time, I think for the whole town because I'm not the only one who suffered,” she said. “… but we got to a good place, a really good place after it was done.”

Since overcoming the single greatest challenge in her career, McAlister has shifted her focus to building on the foundation of community policing laid by the town’s previous chief.

“It's all about integrity. It's all about taking care of your community, right? It's all about community engagement, and making sure they know we're there for them,” she said.

It takes a particular type of officer to police in Purcellville, McAlister said—one who needs to be as qualified and ready to respond to scenarios that the average resident might shrink from, but also has the heart to drop off groceries for a shut in or help a child with their homework at a department sponsored event.

“I love the fact that my officers, that they're not out there hammering people, right? They balance the education with the enforcement,” she said.

“There's a complete different type of policing that's done in small town. You really have to be good with calm. You don't have to constantly be entertained. You can be happy just engaging with the public, right? And thinking more about the protection of them and the safety of them as opposed to what can I do?” she said.

But to keep those officers, McAlister said it is important to be willing to pay them what they deserve, often a struggle for a town with limited resources, especially when competing with neighboring departments offering $25,000 signing bonuses.

Sometimes, she said, it’s less about the salary number and more about knowing with confidence that the trajectory of the salary will continue to increase as cost of living expenses increase.

For the next chief, McAlister advises they get right to work digging into getting to know the community.

“We work for the community and you work for your officers,” she said.  

The town has begun recruitment to fill the position with help from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. Applications will be open until May 3. The interview panel will include both active and retired Virginia Police Chiefs.