The Tucson City Council unanimously voted yesterday for Richard Miranda to become Tucson's new police chief.
Miranda, 46, will be sworn in this morning.
"I want to thank you for your support, and it's time to go to work," said Miranda, after receiving a standing ovation at yesterday's council meeting.
The 23-year Tucson Police Department veteran succeeds former chief Douglas Smith, who left to become director of the Tucson center of a federally funded drug task force.
Miranda's base salary will be $99,300 with an additional $9,930 in annual longevity pay, City Manager Luis Gutierrez said. Smith earned $102,000 in base pay plus $7,500 a year in deferred compensation.
Miranda said he intends to waste no time. He has a 2 p.m. strategy meeting scheduled today with his top commanders. "We'll talk about team building and enforcement strategies," said Miranda, an assistant police chief since 1992.
The council's endorsement of Gutierrez's choice of Miranda came as no surprise. Six of the seven members said last week that they would support Miranda.
Councilman Jerry Anderson earlier said he was unsure how he would vote. He said the first stage of the chief search should have been opened to more candidates. Gutierrez limited it to Tucson's four assistant police chiefs.
The councilman said he talked Friday with Miranda and was impressed. "He had some excellent responses to questions I had."
