Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe accepted the job of police chief in Charlotte, N.C.

Charlotte, N.C., solved its problem.

So who's going to be the next police chief in Richmond?

This much is known: The next top cop here will carry the title of interim chief and be drawn from the ranks of the Richmond Police Department, Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement yesterday.

In the statement, in which Wilder announced that he would not seek a second term, he commended Monroe for his service and said he would announce the appointment of an interim chief in the near future.

Monroe on Thursday was offered and accepted the job of police chief in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, which has a force twice the size of Richmond's.

After Monroe was hired by Wilder in February 2005, the chief brought in several high-ranking former colleagues from his days in the command staff in Washington D.C.'s police department, including Assistant Chief Ray Tarasovic.

Tarasovic, Monroe's friend and second in command, has previously said that Richmond would be his last stop as a police officer. Were he not to accompany Monroe to Charlotte, he would be a likely candidate for the interim chief's job.

Others likely to be considered would include the department's five police majors. Among them: Maj. John Buckovich, Monroe's former chief of staff, and Maj. David McCoy, who currently oversees all investigative divisions of the department, including the department's homicide unit, supervised by Major Crimes Capt. John Venuti.

Some officials have expressed support for a search process that includes internal and external candidates for a chief likely to be appointed by the next mayor. After his election in 2004, Wilder formed a committee that led to the hiring of Monroe, arguably the most successful appointment of his administration.

Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring said Monroe helped forge cooperative relationships among prosecutors, police and other law-enforcement agencies that made a significant impact on reducing and prosecuting crime in the region.

He said he hopes the next chief is promoted from within.

"We want to keep what we have going forward," Herring said.

Monroe could not be reached for comment.

Local police executives contacted declined to give Richmond advice on how to conduct its search but wished Monroe well in his new assignment and expressed confidence that their working relationships with city police would continue to thrive.

"I think Rodney has done an excellent job in the city, I really do," Henrico Police Chief Henry W. Stanley Jr. said, "and I'm sorry to see him leave. He's accomplished much. He's been easy to work with and certainly is a regional team player. We really have worked close with him."

Stanley noted that Monroe late last year was elected chairman of the Central Virginia Law Enforcement Chief Executives Association, which meets quarterly to discuss regional crime issues. He was to have held the position through 2008.

Col. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of state police, echoed Stanley's remarks.

"I certainly wish Rodney and his family all the best in Charlotte," Flaherty said. "Through our various city-state partnerships, State Police and Richmond [Police Department] have benefited greatly under Rodney's leadership. He's been a pleasure to work with over the years and is a credit to the public safety profession."

Chesterfield police Chief Thierry G. Dupuis expressed similar sentiments.

"Certainly as a police department we do wish Chief Monroe the best of luck in his future assignment in Charlotte," Dupuis said through police spokeswoman Ann Reid. "We will continue to work with the Richmond Police Department, as we do with all local agencies, as it relates to mutual interests and public safety issues."

Hanover Sheriff V. Stuart Cook, who worked many years in Richmond, was unavailable yesterday for comment, said spokesman Lt. Michael J. Trice.
Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer David Ress contributed to this report.