Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Peter Newsham testifies before the House Overshight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations in the Rayburn House Office Building May 9, 2014 in Washington, DC. Newsham and other witnesses testified about the federal government’s enforcement of marijuana laws in the face of the district’s efforts to decriminalize possession of the drug. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Mayor Muriel Bowser named Peter Newsham as the interim police chief of D.C. Police today, following Cathy Lanier’s forthcoming retirement from the force.

Newsham has served as an assistant chief of police since 2002—the longest-serving of the six current assistant chiefs—and joined MPD in 1989. He currently oversees many of the department’s highest profile cases as the head of the Investigative Services Bureau, which focuses on violent, property, sexual assault, and narcotic crimes.

“He is experienced, smart, compassionate, and most importantly, he knows what it means to walk a beat, to manage a team, and to serve the residents of the District of Columbia,” Bowser said in a statement. “He is a police officer of the highest caliber and is extremely qualified to serve as the Interim Chief of Police while we conduct the search for a permanent replacement.”

Newsham will step into the role on September 17, when Lanier leaves to become senior vice president of security operations for the National Football League. Bowser said a job announcement for the permanent chief job would be posted in the coming days.

Both Bowser and Lanier signaled in a press conference last week that a replacement might come from within MPD. Bowser said she would not be using a head hunting firm to find Lanier’s replacement and mentioned the “deep bench” at MPD.

Lanier also seemed supportive of the new chief being chosen from her colleagues. “I would work for any one of them in a heartbeat and not bat an eye,” she said.

Newsham is one of six assistant chiefs (The Post has a good write-up of all of them here) but Bowser isn’t limited to this half-dozen officers. When Lanier became chief, she had been a commander, The Post notes.