TOPEKA — A veteran Topeka police officer will now lead the department.
City Manager Brent Trout announced Friday that Bill Cochran, who has been with the department since 1987, will become the new chief.
Cochran has been interim chief since November and will take over the department immediately.
He has worked in several areas in the Topeka department, including homicide, patrol and criminal investigations. He also was an officer for 20 years in the Kansas Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq.
Trout will earn $135,500 per year.
The new chief takes over a department that saw a record number of homicides last year and unrest caused by the fatal shooting of Dominique White by a police officer.
