Aurora on Wednesday named its first full-time police chief in more than two years.

City Manager Jason Batchelor selected Todd Chamberlain, a former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) commander, to lead the Aurora Police Department, the city said in a news release.

Chamberlain’s selection needs confirmation from the Aurora City Council, which is set for Aug. 26. He would then be sworn in as the new chief on Sept. 9.

Chamberlain is a former LAPD officer and commander who was with the department from 1984 to 2018. As commander, Chamberlain oversaw roughly 1,800 personnel across six divisions, according to the City of Aurora.

He later served as police chief for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LASPD), and more recently as a public safety consultant and university lecturer at California State University Los Angeles.

Chamberlain served as chief of police for LASPD for about seven months before resigning in 2020. According to local media reports in California, Chamberlain said he wasn’t happy with severe budget cuts to the school police force.

“Todd is a seasoned professional who has a deep understanding of fair, ethical, consistent and constitutional policing,” Batchelor said in a statement. “He has the executive skillset to run a large, complex organization like APD and put leaders in place at all levels of the agency. He also has a track record of partnering with community leaders to reduce crime, enhance community safety, and establish open, honest and transparent dialogue with community members. He is an excellent communicator and is astute at collecting and analyzing critical performance data in line with industry best practices.”

During his time as police chief with LASPD and as a LAPD commander, Chamberlain led and instituted operations like crime reduction, community policing and partnerships, and risk mitigation, according to the city.

Chamberlain also established and oversaw policy and procedures involving the use of force, community engagement, citywide homelessness initiatives and innovation related to the city’s intervention and prevention programs, the release says.

Chamberlain served as LAPD’s first homelessness coordinator, where he developed the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) team, which has been emulated throughout the law enforcement community, the city said.

The City of Aurora also noted that Chamberlain has been committed to serving diverse communities with a focus on understanding and addressing their unique needs.

“I’m deeply honored to be selected to lead the Aurora Police Department and am committed to serving the City of Aurora, its dedicated police personnel, and, most importantly, the community we all strive to protect,” Chamberlain said in a statement. “I look forward to embracing the challenges and successes ahead, with a focus on fostering strong relationships, building trust and ensuring collaboration at every level. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the safety and well-being of our city.”

The Aurora Police Department has been without an official chief since Vanessa Wilson was fired more than two years ago, in April 2022. Since then, the top position has been filled by various interim chiefs. Current interim Chief Heather Morris decided not to pursue the role permanently in July.

The city announced three finalists for the job in fall of 2022, but two of the three took themselves out of the running. At the time, community members expressed concern about a lack of diversity among the finalists.

The city and its police department are currently two years into their consent decree to change how police use force and interact with people of color in the community.