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Ex-Oakland Chief To Lead Baltimore Police

BALTIMORE, Md. (CBS / AP) -- The Baltimore mayor's office said a former police California police chief has been picked as the city's new police commissioner.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she plans to introduce Anthony W. Batts as the new commissioner on Tuesday.

Batts will replace former commissioner Frederick Bealefeld III, who announced his retirement in May after five years at the helm and who presided over a drop in the number of homicides.

Batts, who was selected after a nationwide search, served as police chief in Long Beach, Calif., from 2002 to 2009 and led Oakland's police department for two years after that. He's worked in law enforcement for 30 years.

Batts is scheduled to start in Baltimore on Sept. 27. Anthony Barksdale will remain acting commissioner until then.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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