Ken Weatherill is Hamilton's new deputy police chief

Hamilton police named Ken Weatherill the new deputy police chief on Thursday.

Weatherill was all smiles as he was introduced to a hearty wave of applause, calling it the moment he'd been working toward for his entire 28-year career.

• Hamilton police look for strategies to deal with mentally ill

"Thank you for this tremendous opportunity,"Weatherill said during his official remarks at a special ceremony outside police headquarters.

"I couldnt be prouder than to be part of this team."

'Thefrontlinemen and women, sworn or civilian, theyre the people that are out there on the job dealing with those emergency calls for service.I never will lose sight of that fact.'-KenWeatherill, Deputy Police Chief

Weatherills also thanked his family, who was sitting in front row, and called his wife, Shawna, "my pillar and my guiding light."

During his policing career, Weatherill has worked everyone from the traffic division to investigative services, and has worked as the superintendent of Division 3 since 2012.

Chief Glenn de Caire called it a "wonderful day"as he pinned the deputy chief badge onto Weatherills jacket.

After the ceremony, and several hearty hugs from other police officers on hand, Weatherill said one of his immediate priorities would be working to better serve people experiencing mental health crises.

Weatherill, who serves on an advisory committee at St. Joes, has an interest in the area and said he was looking forward to working on the police forces mental health action plan, which was announced last month.

He said he also hopes to maintain a good rapport with the police on the street.

"The frontline men and women, sworn or civilian, theyre the people that are out there on the job dealing with those emergency calls for service,"Weatherill said.

"I never will lose sight of that fact."

'He really wanted the job'

De Caire called Weatherill a "dedicated professional,"who has been committed to making it to this point.

He recalled Weatherills handling of the Enbridge protests, as commander in charge, as clear demonstration of leadership.

"We saw in there an ability for him to work with sides that really were on polar extremes of an issue,"de Caire said.

Weatherill was able to build some consensus between the sides, and was also able to step in and uphold the law, the chief said.

While de Caire was pleased with Weatherill's selection, he had no hand in the decision. The Police Services Board chooses the deputy chief, following a series of interviews with interested applicants.

"He really wanted the job, the word I use is he was hungry,"said Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, who chairs the board and introduced Weatherill.

Ferguson was impressed by Weatherills interest in mental health, which is a growing problem facing police everywhere, he said.

Ferguson also praised Weatherills love of technology and said he did extremely well when asked about police budgets.

Weatherill takes over from Ken Leendertse, who retires this year.

He officially starts his new role next Monday.