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

"It's gotta be the toughest decision I've ever made in my life. It's just so many different factors that have gone into this -- too many to articulate. But it's been a very emotional one for me both professionally and personally," Monroe said in an exclusive interview earlier this evening with the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The chief said he will be in Charlotte on Monday for a formal announcement.

"Rodney Monroe personifies every aspect of the ideal police chief, especially as a strong communicator," Charlotte City Manager Curt Walton said in a news release announcing Monroe's appointment. "He also has an extraordinary passion for law enforcement and prevention that makes a community a better place to live."

Monroe was praised in Richmond for reducing the homicide rate, and Walton cited that accomplishment, among others, in naming him to the job leading the Charlote-Mecklenburg County Police Department. He will become Charlotte's first black police chief.

Walton said Monroe would start in Charlotte no later than June 16.

Monroe was warmly received Tuesday night at a forum in Charlotte with two others who were finalists for the job --Alan Dreher, assistant police chief in Atlanta; and Jerry Sennett, the deputy chief in Charlotte.

Monroe, 51, was hired by Mayor L. Douglas Wilder in February 2005. Through a spokesman, Wilder would only say that Monroe had informed him of his decision in the late afternoon and that he expected to make more comment tomorrow.

City Council President William Pantele thanked Monroe for what he accomplished in the capital city and said he will be missed.

"I thank Rodney for the tremendous job that he did for us and want to reiterate our gratitude. He's been both a terrific professional as well as a good friend. With a mixture of disappointment, we have to congratulate him and wish him well."

Charlotte is the nation's 20th largest city has a population of more than 650,000.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Department has 1,638 sworn members and more than 450 civilian employees. The chief will be responsible for a budget of more than $174 million.

(Staff writer Will Jones contributed to this report.)