Joseph Chacon officially sworn-in as Austin’s new police chief

At APD, Chacon served as assistant and interim chief, and spent most of his career working as a detective or a supervisor working to solve murders, investigate organized crime to name a few.

AUSTIN, Texas - After serving more than 20 years in Austin, Joseph Chacon was officially sworn-in as Austin's new police chief.

Chacon feels policing has always been his calling.

"A wise person once said to find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life. That's been my experience with police work," he said.

Chacon put in his bid for the job earlier in the year, after Brian Manley retired. Chacon came to APD in 1998, from El Paso where he started his career. At APD, he served as assistant and interim chief, and spent most of his career working as a detective or a supervisor working to solve murders, investigate organized crime to name a few. Now he has reached his capstone.

"I want to say thank you to the community for having me, for putting the trust in me, the confidence in me," he said.

Now the chief plans to hit the ground running. A recent report shows violent crime might be going down, but the city is still hitting records.

"We've seen decreases in both violent crime and property crime this year. That doesn't discount the fact that we have a record number of murders or aggravated assault numbers are up," said Chacon.

Chacon hopes to build trust by being as transparent as possible with the public. "The way that you gain trust is to show accountability, by being transparent in the things that we are doing as a department," he said.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler also took the podium, saying that the city council and city as a whole supports the police force and looks forward to working with him.

"We haven't always agreed on everything, but it is in you that we entrust our community's safety and it is with confidence that we put you in this position," Adler said.

___
MORE HEADLINES:
Joseph Chacon confirmed as Austin's new police chief
Joseph Chacon is now Austin’s police chief
City identifies top seven candidates to be Austin's next police chief
45 people have applied to become Austin's next police chief
____
DOWNLOAD: FOX 7 AUSTIN NEWS APP
SUBSCRIBE: Daily Newsletter | YouTube
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter