Crime & Justice

Photos: APD Changing of the Chiefs ceremony

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, outgoing Chief Mark Mew and incoming Chief Chris Tolley participate in a changing of the chiefs ceremony midday Monday, October 12, 2015, at Anchorage Police Department headquarters.

Tolley, the former Alaska Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor, stepped in as Anchorage's newest police chief Monday following the ceremony.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth swore Chris Tolley in as the chief of Anchorage Police Department. Tolley's official first day is Tuesday.

First to step before the podium situated near the front steps of APD's headquarters, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz thanked outgoing police chief Mark Mew for this years of service. Mew did so "not always under easy circumstances, but always with dignity and the interest of his troops at heart," Berkowitz said.

"I want to acknowledge that chief Tolley will carry a heavy burden," Berkowitz said. "He's got that responsibility to move this department forward, to make sure our community can be safe and strong going into the future, and I have every confidence that he'll be able to achieve those goals with the same kind of achievement that Mew has had."

READ MORE: New chief takes reins at Anchorage Police Department

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