Lt. Steve Cooper, the Charleston Police Department's former chief of detectives, officially is chief of police.
Cooper was sworn in Tuesday at a City Council meeting in front of police officers, family members and friends and community members.
Cooper, a Rand native, has been a Charleston police officer for his entire 23-year career in law enforcement.
When Cooper entered the police academy, he never expected to work in leadership.
"All I wanted to do was graduate and get a police car," Cooper said.
He spent years patrolling the West Side, eventually becoming a detective. Former city police chief Brent Webster appointed him as chief of detectives in 2005. Cooper said being sworn in as police chief is the greatest honor of his career.
His priority is to make sure Charleston's police officers are professional and effective. He said the best way he can do that is to lead by example.
"We're going to work hard. We're going to professional," Cooper said. "We're going to be strong, and we're going to be safe."
Now he's looking forward to tackling issues that plague the city, including the heroin epidemic and rising property crime by "vagrants." He said the only way problems can be solved is through collaboration throughout the city and with the support of council.
Several family members stood behind him as he was sworn in, including two of his sons who are Charleston police officers.
Right before he took the oath, he posed for a photo with Deanna McKinney and several children who live on the West Side. McKinney's 18-year-old son, Tymel McKinney, was shot and killed on his front porch on Sixth Street on the West Side in 2014.
One of the men charged with killing Tymel McKinney, Darrell Emmett Carter, also was involved in a murder-for-hire plot to kill Cooper. Carter currently is serving a life sentence at Mt. Olive Correctional Center.
Since then Cooper and Deanna McKinney have grown close, their lives intersecting as she dedicates time to improving the West Side.
"To have them here tonight really meant the world to me," Cooper said.
He said forming relationships with people in the community is a key to the detective bureau's success. Without trust, he said they wouldn't be able to solve crimes.
"If you don't trust us, you're not going to talk to us," Cooper said. "If you don't trust us you're not going to cooperate in a major investigation, even if you want to... It's dangerous sometimes to cooperate with law enforcement."
He said he plans on rolling out a few new policies in the days to come after consulting with officers.
Also, Council voted to:
n Enact an ordinance to create a new agency to be known as the Charleston Development Authority. The development authority will be serve as a building manager for the future home of Charleston's EDGE project, which focuses on bringing young talent to the city and providing them with affordable housing downtown.
n Approve a bill to close, abandon and discontinue 19th Street and a portion of a public right-of-way of Kanawha Avenue SE and approve a bill claiming and releasing all right title and interest of the City of Charleston from a portion of 19th Street. The bills will allow the University of Charleston to move forward on an athletic field expansion project.
Reach Ali Schmitz at ali.schmitz@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @schmitzmedia on Twitter.