John Chambers sworn in as Chattanooga Police Chief

New Chattanooga Police Chief John Chambers receiving his new pins from his wife and mother.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Chattanooga officially has a new police chief.

Long time veteran Chief Chambers was sworn-in Friday afternoon at a ceremony inside of the Walker Theatre at Memorial Auditorium.

He replaces Celeste Murphy who resigned after charges were brought against her for falsifying personal documents.

Chambers first joined the Chattanooga Police Department 30 years ago at the age of 17.

The new chief says this is the honor of a lifetime.

Chief Chambers said, “I am nothing special whatsoever. I’m simply a representation of all of those who have poured into me my entire life.”

Former Chattanooga police chiefs Fred Fletcher and David Roddy discussed how impressed they’ve been with Chief Chambers while working with him in the past.

Fletcher recalled during the July 16, 2015 terrorist attack here in Chattanooga that, “I’m trying to muster resources. I had the FBI on one phone, David on the other phone, and David says that John is on the scene. I put my hands on Nathan’s shoulder, and say you can slow down. That’s the kind of man we’re hiring.”

Roddy added, “John went on to build one of the most crucial and beneficial developments in the CPD, the Real Time Intelligence Center. This technology and its personnel have gone on to address crime on a truly amazing level. Using methods and processes not in existence in our agency until John was made project lead, and turned a vision into a reality.”

While Chief Chambers didn’t discuss a lot of specific policies during his speech, he did hint at what he thinks are the main issues right now within Chattanooga policing.

Chief Chambers said, “We have to, and I am committed to, investing in the wellness of our officers and our community. There are needs that have been unmet, and that is because they have been unrealized. A lot of what we do is treat symptoms, and we don’t take a lot of time to treat causation.”