He will replace current chief Beverly Harvard, who did not seek to retain the position she has held for eight years.
``I believe we found the best man for the job,'' said Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who was elected in November.
``He was known in New Orleans and across the country for turning New Orleans Police Department around, for bringing a new level of professionalism, a new level of cooperation with communities and a new level of cooperation with business.''
Pennington, 55, beat out Andre Parker, assistant deputy director of the Illinois State Police, for the job.
The Atlanta City Council is expected to confirm Pennington's appointment.
He had been police chief in New Orleans since 1994 and was widely credited with cutting the rate of violent crime in New Orleans, including a reduction of the annual murder rate by half.
He also toughened standards and helped reduce corruption in the department. Under his reign, more than 350 police officers were indicted, fired or disciplined for misconduct.
Pennington took a leave of absence in November to run for mayor of New Orleans. He wound up in a runoff, but was defeated by cable television executive Ray Nagin.
Pennington said he would bring some of the measures he used to reduce crime in New Orleans, including computerized tracking of crime trends and dispatching officers to identified hot spots, community policing and substations in housing projects.
He was born in Little Rock, Ark., and raised in Gary, Ind. After graduating from high school, he joined the Air Force and did a tour in Vietnam. After his discharge in 1968, he joined the Washington Police Department and quickly climbed the ranks.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/194102