ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Officials named the first African-American police chief in Alexandria's 260-year history, a city spokesman said.
City Manager James K. Hartmann officially appointed Acting Police Chief Earl L. Cook as head of the department Tuesday, spokesman Tony Castrilli said. Cook joined the department in 1979, and has served as executive deputy chief since 2006.
Cook became acting chief last month when former chief David Baker was charged with drunken driving after he was involved in a car crash.
Cook was a member of the T.C. Williams High School football team depicted in the 2000 movie "Remember the Titans," Castrilli said. A black coach took over the racially divided team in 1971, leading it to the state championship with the help of a white assistant coach.
The native Alexandrian attended Duke University after graduating from T.C. Williams in 1973.
