Brooklyn Park, the state's sixth-largest city, swore in Police Department veteran Craig Enevoldsen as its new police chief last week.

The City Council unanimously approved the appointment of Deputy Chief Enevoldsen, who had been acting chief since Mike Davis left to become public safety director at Northeastern University in Boston. The city did an internal search; Enevoldsen was the only applicant.

Enevoldsen, 43, began as a patrolman with the city at age 20. He has a law enforcement degree from Alexandria Technical College and is a 2005 graduate of the Police Staff and Command School of Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill.

In an interview, Enevoldsen said that he expects to maintain the course set by Davis, although he will work to improve communications with the city's nonwhite community, which makes up nearly half the population of 67,388. Enevoldsen will manage a budget of $19.8 million and a staff of 160, including 109 sworn officers.

jim adams | @stribjim