Police Lt. Tom O'Keefe was officially sworn in to his new post Thursday at City Hall.
The Peabody native has 19 years on the force and now fills the last supervisory vacancy in the department.
Mayor Ted Bettencourt praised O'Keefe as yet another talented and committed top officer in the department to advance through the ranks.
"Today is Tommy O'Keefe's day. It's been a long time coming," said retiring chief Robert Champagne.
O'Keefe says he's excited for the "next chapter" in his career and looking forward to the changes and challenges ahead, particularly as a new police chief is sought to fill Champagne's shoes.
O'Keefe, 51, graduated from the Peabody high vocational program in 1980 and initially spent time in the trades before deciding to become a cop.
He has degrees from North Shore Community College and Curry College and a masters in criminal justice administration from Western New England University.
Police work does run in the family though -- O'Keefe's uncle Joe is a retired Peabody officer and did influence O'Keefe's ultimate decision to pursue law enforcement, he said.
Now, one of his grown daughters already has experience as a dispatcher and wants to become an officer as well.
Dad admitted he wasn't thrilled at first about that decision and tried to talk his daughter out of it.
"But they want to do what they want to do," O'Keefe said. "It's a good career." His other daughter is entering the medical field.
The lieutenant job opened up when longtime officer John McCorry retired earlier this year. McCorry spent more than 30 years on the force.
O'Keefe and his wife Darlene have two daughters, Tara and Tina, both of whom are now married.
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