The Vancouver Police Department has officially named Jim Chu as the city's top cop -- the first Chinese-Canadian to fill the role.
According to 'Visible Minority Groups, 2001 Counts,' by Statistics Canada, there are about 161,000 Chinese-Canadians living in Vancouver.
Chu, who had served as deputy chief, has spent more than 25 years on Canada's third largest municipal police force.
"I like to think I'm a team builder," Chu said Thursday of his new position. "I don't like to think of myself as someone that does things on his own."
The 47-year-old is currently managing the force's operations support division which handles emergency response teams, gangs and drugs units, criminal intelligence and policing for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Chu beat out two other internal candidates -- Deputy Chief Bob Rich and Superintendent Kash Heed -- for the position as police chief.
The appointment is made by the city's police board, led by Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan.
"We searched the whole country for the best person for the job," Sullivan said Thursday.
Chu will officially start in his new role in August, taking over for retiring Chief Jamie Graham.
Graham's five-year tenure has seen recognized improvement in the force but also several controversies.
An investigation has just been launched into allegations that Graham did not cooperate with an RCMP investigation pertaining to incidents of alleged police brutality.
