Veteran Florida cop Delrish Moss has been picked to lead Ferguson, Mo.'s Police Department, a department that became the subject of national news after a white officer fatally shot unarmed teen Michael Brown in 2014 and a federal probe concluded that there was racial bias throughout the city's justice system.
"Change doesn't come easily, but I think I'm ready for that challenge," Moss told ABC 10.
Moss, 51, a major with the Miami Police Department, will bring 32 years of experience to the job, which Ferguson officials hope will repair its department's reputation since the killing of Brown.
"This has been a long and strenuous process, but we believe Maj. Moss is the right choice," Ferguson Mayor James Knowles told NBC News. "We understand the past 18 months have not been easy for everyone, but the city is now moving forward, and we are excited to have Maj. Moss lead our police department."
Moss was chosen over three other finalists from Indiana and Missouri. He will replace interim Police Chief Andre Anderson, "who was suspended last August after it was discovered that he'd previously been suspended three times in one year," ABC 10 reports.
Moss told the news station that he wanted to become a police officer after being harassed as a young man by two Miami officers who called him the n-word.
"I wanted to provide to my community better service than I was getting that day," Moss said. "Those things really made me become a police officer."
Moss knows that he has a huge task ahead of him, but he is welcoming the challenge.
"If we're transparent, if we're persistent, if we're listening, I think we stand a good chance of moving forward," he told ABC 10.