Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Deputy Chief Harold Medlock is leaving to become the new police chief in Fayetteville.

Medlock, 55, said he plans to start his new job on Feb. 18. But first, he said, he needs to finish some administrative work related to the Democratic National Convention held this past September in Charlotte, as well as work on a couple of other projects.

Medlock has worked for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for much of the past three decades.

He was promoted to deputy chief in 2008. He oversees, among other things, special events, specialized units and divisions spanning southern Mecklenburg.

He commands 800 officers as deputy chief, and said he faces each day with a focus on crime and quality-of-life issues.

“I’m going to bring that same enthusiasm, that same focus to FPD,” Medlock said at a news conference in Fayetteville.

He succeeds Tom Bergamine, who retired last summer. The Fayetteville department had dealt with controversy in the past two years over the number of times police spotted and searched black drivers in the city.

Katherine Bryant has been serving as Fayetteville’s interim chief.

Last month, Medlock was announced as one of two finalists for the Fayetteville job out of more than 130 applicants. At the time, Fayetteville leaders said they were impressed with Medlock’s work overseeing security efforts for the DNC.

The convention was one of the largest events that the Charlotte police department has been involved with, and CMPD received a $50 million federal grant and help from thousands of officers from across the country to secure the event.

On Wednesday, Medlock told reporters in Fayetteville that he loved CMPD and the community here, but is looking forward to the new job.

Medlock first joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg police as an officer in 1979. He left the department briefly to work in the private sector and rejoined CMPD in 1993, where he has served in multiple roles such as sergeant, captain and major, according to his biography on the police department’s website.

Medlock is a graduate of Pfeiffer University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in business administration, according to his biography. He also is involved in multiple organizations, including serving as a trustee of the CMPD Benevolent Fund and as first vice president of the N.C. Police Executives Association.