NATION : Houston Police Chief Picked by Dinkins to Head N.Y. Department
Mayor-Elect David N. Dinkins today named Houston Police Commissioner Lee Brown as his new police commissioner after he takes office New Year’s Day.
Brown will replace Acting Police Commissioner Richard Condon, who was named by Mayor Edward I. Koch after Benjamin Ward resigned Sept. 25.
“I’m most happy Chief Brown has chosen to come to New York to take this job,” Dinkins said. “Of all of the finalists, he seems to be the absolute best in the country. I think that the Police Department will recognize Lee Brown for who he is and what he is. He is a true professional.”
Brown, 51, a native of Wewoka, Okla., became Houston police chief in 1982, the first black to hold the job. He began his police career in 1960 in San Jose where he served as a patrolman for eight years.
San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara was among those considered for the New York job.
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