D.C. police official hired in Atlanta

ATLANTA - Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington has restructured his staff and brought in a commander from Washington, D.C., to be the No. 2 person in the department. <br> <br> Alan James Dreher, commander of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department&#39;s First Police District and a 23-year veteran of the force, will be assistant chief in Atlanta. <br> <br> Pennington also announced Wednesday the retirement of Deputy Chief Wesley Derrick. Pennington said he will eliminate two of four deputy chief positions and add Dreher&#39;s rank of assistant chief. <br> <br> While there are four deputy chiefs under the current system, there is no designated second in command to Pennington, a former New Orleans chief who took over in Atlanta in July. <br> <br> Dreher, 48, has at various times commanded Washington&#39;s violent crime and gang task force, the intelligence branch, the homicide division and the office of planning and development, before becoming district commander in 2001.

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