Richmond Police Department "In Capable Hands" With New Police Chief: Magnus

RICHMOND, CA- The replacement for a popular Richmond police chief is being officially sworn in today as the 16th person to fill the city's top cop role.

Allwyn Brown is being sworn in a month after accepting the police chief position that he took on an interim basis upon the departure of former police Chief Chris Magnus.

Read more about Brown:

Richmond Police Welcome Veteran Officer as Police Chief

After a 10-year tenure, Magnus announced in November that he was leaving the local department for a police chief job in Tucson, Arizona, where he'll be in charge of more than 900 sworn officers, compared to Richmond's roughly 200.

Magnus had gained a significant stature in Richmond for his efforts to introduce community policing and his overseeing of a dramatic reduction in murders in the city. Richmond, which had experienced 47 murder cases in 2009, fell to a 33-year low of 11 murders in 2014, according to data from the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

Magnus left -- and Brown is filling his role -- just as the city is starting to see a slight rebound in violence. There were 21 murder cases in 2015, according to data from prosecutors. Magnus, who said during his departure announcement that the time was right for him to make a career move despite the uptick, has said that he is leaving the Richmond Police Department "in capable hands" with Brown.

Brown is a 31-year veteran of the department who was appointed an assistant police chief under Magnus in 2015. Before that, he was made a deputy police chief in 2010. He earned a master's degree in human resource management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco while serving in that position. Brown will be sworn in at a ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. in the lobby of the Richmond Memorial Auditorium at 403 Civic Center Plaza.

By Bay City News, Photo courtesy of Richmond Police Department