The Associated Press
DURHAM, N.C. — An assistant police chief from Connecticut was introduced Thursday as the new police chief in Durham.
“Jose L. Lopez Sr., who has been the assistant chief in Hartford, Conn., since 2006, will replace Steve Chalmers, who is retiring. Lopez was introduced during a news conference by City Manager Patrick Baker.
Lopez, who will be paid a $125,000 salary, joined Hartford police as a patrol officer in 1983. He was chosen from about 60 applicants during the Durham’s seven-month search for a new police chief.
Chalmers, who announced last summer he planned to retire, lead the Durham Police Department during the now-defunct rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players. All three men were eventually declared innocent by state prosecutors who took over the case.
In his report on the case, Chalmers admitted botching the photo lineup of suspects that was shown to the woman who said she was assaulted at a lacrosse team party in March 2006. Durham Mayor Bill Bell has said the report didn’t specify whether police or former Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was in charge of the investigation.
Nifong has since been disbarred and resigned as the county’s top prosecutor.
In May, Chalmers said he supported a city council decision that called for an independent investigation into how his department handled the case.