PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Major Kevin Lanni has been named deputy chief of the Providence Police Department, following in the footsteps of now-Chief Oscar Perez.

Lanni, who has been with the department for 26 years, will oversee the daily operations of the department.

“Under the leadership of Colonel Perez and Commander Lanni, I am confident that we will continue moving forward to achieve our goals of strengthening and improving public safety while also tackling the quality-of-life issues that are a disruption to our thriving city,” Mayor Brett Smiley said in a statement Friday.

Lanni began working with the department in 1997 and previously served as the commanding officer of the narcotics bureau. He was up against Perez and Major David Lapatin for the position of chief, but Smiley ultimately appointed Perez to lead the department last week.

Perez took over for former Chief Hugh Clements, who left to take a new job in Washington D.C. at the Department of Justice.