Larry Esquivel Officially San Jose's Police Chief

For the first time in a year, the city of San Jose has a police chief without the word "interim" or "acting" in the title.

On Tuesday, the city council officially ratified Larry Esquivel as chief of the department.

“I am both proud to wear this uniform and deeply honored to continue this opportunity of leading the department that I have served for almost 28 years,”  Esquivel said in a statement.

Esquivel has been acting chief since former Chief Chris Moore retired in January.

Esquivel grew up in San Jose. He started as a street cop in 1986.

He has served on the tactical unit, investigations, field training, narcotics, internal affairs, and administration. He was promoted to sergeant in 1997, became lieutenant in 2005, captain in 2010 and deputy chief in 2012.

“Despite the serious challenges caused by limited resources and reduced staffing levels, we have great people doing outstanding work every day for San José," he said. "I will continue to work in collaboration with our entire team and community to make this department and our community better.”

Under the San Jose City Charter, the city manager appoints all department directors, including the police chief, subject to ratification by the City Council.

 “As acting chief, Larry has demonstrated effective leadership during a very difficult period for police department,” said outgoing city manager Debra Figone in a statement. “ Along with his command staff, he has made significant progress to strengthen relationships both inside and outside the department. I have full confidence that he will continue to be an excellent chief for all of San Jose.”

Mayor Chuck Reed also gave Esquivel kudos and wished him luck with the challenges ahead.

"Whether or not he can deal with all the problems in the department, of course,  that's a big challenge," Reed told NBC Bay Area. "We'll just have to wait and see.  But I think from my perspective he's done an excellent job in very difficult circumstances and I think he would do a great job as the permanent chief."

Esquivel will start immediately in his new position, and his annual salary will be $203,000.

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