Richmond's new interim police chief says the 750-officer department will look to build and expand upon the policing concepts that drove the city's crime-fighting success under his predecessor.

"I really feel it's an opportunity to continue and advance for the city and the department," said David McCoy, 46, the former Richmond police major who yesterday was named interim chief by Mayor L. Douglas Wilder.

"There's a lot of professional and personal satisfaction and excitement and opportunity, but it's something that comes with challenges and responsibilities," added McCoy, who succeeds Police Chief Rodney D. Monroe, who takes over the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., Police Department on Monday.

"I realize what Rodney Monroe has done and what it means for the city," McCoy said. "We were going to continue to do what we've set out for and continue to improve the city."

Today is the last day as top cop in Richmond for Monroe, who was hired by Wilder in February 2005 and presided over a crime-fighting renaissance in the ranks of the department and significant reductions in violent crime and homicides in the city.

"While we will miss our outgoing chief and his many accomplishments to reduce crime in Richmond, we are fortunate to have seasoned members within our police department who can provide the skillful management needed to continue the momentum to fight criminal activity," Wilder said.

McCoy's sentiments were echoed by the man Wilder chose yesterday to be the interim assistant chief, former Maj. John Buckovich.

"In the last three years we have done so much to develop partnerships in the community and with law enforcement, local and state," said Buckovich, 46, a Richmond police veteran with more than 25 years on the job.

He will take over for departing Assistant Chief Ray Tarasovic, who is expected to head to Charlotte and serve as Monroe's chief of staff for the next year.

"People expect that is going to continue, and Dave and I are 100 percent committed that that's going to work and we're going to continue to expand above and beyond what we've already done," Buckovich said.

Wilder's decision yesterday was endorsed by Monroe and others in the law-enforcement community with whom the commanders have worked.

"I believe that the two of them have shown strong leadership abilities over the past 3½ years and played a major role in shaping and developing our strategy," Monroe told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "They have fostered great ties both within the organization and outside the organization, making sure that what we sought to do, got done."

Monroe said both men should be among a list of internal candidates who are considered once the decision is made to begin the search for a full-time chief.

"They're both excellent choices," Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring said. "They have both been very quick and close studies of Chief Monroe's interaction with the community. But more than anything else, they know the department from the inside out, and have grown up in RPD, and have the respect of various members of various levels of the department."

McCoy said the department will emphasize the relationships between officers and the community and continue to support and encourage partnerships with other law-enforcement agencies and the business community. Finally, he said, the department will do its job with a focus that empowers commanders in the city's 12 policing sectors to target specific crime problems to address needs in neighborhoods and citywide.

"If you get those things working together," said the new interim chief, "anything can be achieved."

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com.