Charleston, S.C. (WCBD) – The Charleston Police Department is formally recognizing their new police chief at an oath of office ceremony Wednesday morning.

Chief Chito Walker was appointed by the City Council last month.

Police officials say this is the first time in a long time that the Charleston Police Department has welcomed a chief of police who hasn’t been from out of state; Chito Walker’s been a part of the department for over 20 years.

In July, the city named Chito Walker the Interim Police Chief, and now he is officially taking on the full role as the Chief.

According to the Charleston Police Department, Wednesday’s ceremony is Walker’s public promise to uphold the department’s values, strategies, and integrity that a chief requires.

Wednesday’s event will also showcase the support from elected officials and CPD to have Walker take on this department-wide leadership position.

News 2 spoke to Sergeant and Public Information Officer Anthony Gibson, who says there’s excitement ahead of the morning’s ceremony.

“It creates a sort of a buzz of excitement with the agency, so we’re able to see somebody that we’ve been working with for a very long time, that grew up in this agency essentially, he’s now leading this agency, so the institutional knowledge is unmatched,” he said. “From an agency perspective, it’s not a shock to our system. So it’s something that, it’s leadership styles that we’re still familiar with and that we welcome and that we’re excited to continue,” said Gibson.

Wednesday morning’s event is not open to the public, yet police officials say the event will be streamed live for the community. The oath of office ceremony begins Wednesday at 11 a.m.