Former Police Chief Ramsey to Head Philadelphia Dept.

Former D.C. police chief Charles H. Ramsey will be the new commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Philadelphia Mayor-elect Michael Nutter (D) announced at a news conference today that Ramsey will head the city's police department. Ramsey said he starts in January.

"I'm excited," Ramsey said in a phone interview after the news conference. "I love this stuff. The part I like is carrying things out, the buck stops with you."

Ramsey, who was named to the top police job in Washington in 1998, left the city administration at the end of last year. He was replaced by Chief Cathy L. Lanier, the first woman to be permanently named to the job.

Ramsey's name was recently in the running for police commissioner in Baltimore, but he lost to an internal candidate.

Chuck Wexler, head of the Police Executive Research Forum, said Ramsey has the "right stuff" to head the Philadelphia department.

"He's the right guy at the right time in the right place," Wexler said.