Robert Luna named new Long Beach police chief

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Robert Luna, deputy chief of the Long Beach Police Department's Patrol Bureau, has been named the city's new police chief.

The announcement was made by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Luna will be replacing Jim McDonnell, who has been elected as the new Los Angeles County sheriff. He will take over when McDonnell resigns on Nov. 21.

Luna was raised in East Los Angeles and is a graduate of executive study programs at Harvard and the FBI Academy. He said he was inspired to service by watching police dramas on TV.

"Hey if you want to change something, join it and then change it yourself," Luna said.

According to the city's website, Luna joined the Long Beach Police Department in 1985 and has been managing the daily operations of the Patrol Bureau since 2006.