Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has selected Charlie Beck, a 32-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department with strong support from rank-and-file officers and civil rights advocates alike, to serve as the next chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, The LA Times reports.

The choice, which the mayor is expected to announce at a press conference Wednesday morning, comes at a time of uncertainty for the department with its budget battered by the city’s fiscal crisis and morale of rank-and-file officers wavering in the face of a new contract that offers no pay raise.

Beck, 56, has risen quickly through the department’s command ranks in recent years and was widely viewed as the favorite to be tapped as the mayor’s nominee. From his success rehabilitating the LAPD’s Rampart Division, which had been at the center of a corruption scandal, and later as head of the department’s forces in South L.A., Beck has managed to earn praise from both cops and onetime critics of the LAPD for blending a tough stance on crime with a progressive approach to bettering the LAPD’s relationship with city residents.

Villaraigosa chose Becknearly three months after (former NYPD Commissioner) & LA Police Chief William J. Bratton abruptly announced his plan to step down after seven years in which he oversaw dramatic declines in crime and had improved long-strained relations between the police and minority communities. Bratton left office Saturday and Beck’s appointment must still be ratified by the City Council in a vote expected in the coming weeks, although no serious opposition is anticipated.

Beck faces the difficult task of sustaining his predecessor’s hard-won gains.

Villaraigosa in recent days described the appointment as perhaps the most important decision he will make as mayor, and it appeared to be a difficult one for him. He met for several hours last week with Beck and the other two finalists for the job, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell and Deputy Chief Michel Moore, and then summoned the three again Sunday afternoon.

Villaraigosa had sought the advice of numerous elected officials and others. On Saturday, he met with Council President Eric Garcetti, along with other council members, and spent Sunday morning chatting with church leaders around the city. He is keenly aware that after inheriting Bratton, the new chief’s success or failure could weigh heavily on his effectiveness governing Los Angeles, just as it did for Los Angeles’ three previous mayors.

Beck’s five-year term would run to 2014, one year after Villaraigosa will be forced out of office by term limits.

(Source: LA Times)