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In a surprise move amid the second week of protests over police treatment of black people, Mayor Ted Wheeler and Portland Police Chief Jami Resch announced June 8 that Resch would step down and be replaced by Lt. Charles S. "Chuck" Lovell III, 46.
It was a move nobody saw coming, both because Resch took the top cop spot only about six months ago and because Lovell, though highly regarded, was a midlevel manager. In his promotion to the top job, Lt. Lovell jumped three levels: captain, assistant chief and deputy chief.
He now becomes the bureau's eighth chief in the past 10 years. Here are five things to know about him.
1. A native New Yorker, Lovell joined the Portland Police Bureau in 2002 after serving in the U.S. Air Force, including three tours overseas.
2. Among his bureau assignments, Lovell served as a school resource officer at Jefferson High, served on the crisis negotiation team, led the Human Trafficking Detail and, most recently, led the Community Services Unit, which oversees police response to citizens with addictions and mental illness.
3. Lovell becomes Portland's fourth African American chief, following Charles Moose, Derrick Foxworth and Danielle Outlaw, whom he served as executive assistant.
4. Like many Portland police officers, Lovell does not live in Portland. He lives in Washington County. He is not a member of any political party and has rarely voted except in general elections.
5. Lovell is a longtime volunteer and current board member at Lines for Life, a Portland nonprofit that works on substance abuse and suicide prevention.