​ROCHESTER, N.Y. — ​The new permanent Rochester Police chief already has a list of priorities he plans to tackle.

But first, it was a celebratory moment on Wednesday for the veteran member of the Rochester Police force.

David Smith was chosen by Mayor Malik Evans to move from his current position as interim chief to permanent chief.

"I gotta say, I don't know how many times since October I've had people tell me, 'I wouldn't want your job,' or 'I wouldn't want to be you for all the money in the world,'" Smith said. "Well, I can tell you standing here today, there is no other place I would rather be."

Despite that, this is not something Smith expected was in the cards for him after serving three decades on the force.

"I have 30 years November 2," he said. "My wife and I had planned that on November 2, I was leaving after 30 years."

But the events of the last few years, for good or for bad, led the chief to believe that it was not his time to go.

"It's been a long road the past couple of years with everything the department has been through, everything that the city has been through," said Smith. "And, you know, it has certainly had its challenges. But, you know, quite frankly, working with the mayor and the Evans administration has been like a breath of fresh air."

As the mayor seeks an all-encompassing effort to tackle violence, Smith’s way of engaging folks in the community turns out to be what he’s been looking for. A perfect example is when then-captain Smith extended a hand to a protester in June 2020, a time when heated protests led to clashes with police.  

During the Black Lives Matter rally, Smith and a protester, two people on opposite sides of the fence, came together in an attempt to shake hands. They couldn’t reach, but went for a fist bump.

"So I replied to him and I said, 'I would love to have coffee with you sometime,' and I took a business card out," Smith said at the time.

The two did have coffee. Smith not only works to build trust with folks in the community, but he’s built it with the mayor.

"You have to have trust," he said. "You have to have a relationship. You have to have a rapport."

No longer with the word interim in his title, Smith returns to his office on the sixth floor in the Public Safety Building, now with the ability to move forward with long-term and permanent initiatives.

Hiring his command staff will be among the first tasks at hand.

"We’ve had a number of vacancies in the command staff, which has made it challenging to accomplish a lot of long-term, or even get started, with some long-term projects," Smith said.

Anti-violence initiatives, staffing, training and community policing are all high-priority issues.

"I know we say it again and again, the community needs to step up. I know it's not easy. I know there are roadblocks to it, but we do all have to work together in a partnership," said Smith, who added that he plans to leave the department better than it is now.