He planned to have dinner with his wife, daughter and father Friday night and then start his new job today.

Farrar, 50, has served as a police officer for 19 years, mostly in Lakewood.

City Manager Andrew Neiditz chose Farrar over five other candidates, including a Tacoma police captain and some King County sheriff’s supervisors.

“He’s the right man and this is the right time for him to lead the department,” Neiditz said.

Farrar is now chief of a department with 130 employees, including 104 commissioned police officers.

He replaces longtime chief Larry Saunders, who is leaving this month to take a U.S. Army assignment in Iraq.

Saunders said Farrar “ran the shop flawlessly” as assistant chief. Farrar was in charge of day-to-day operations.

“He’s a godsend to this organization,” Saunders said.

Officer Brian Wurts, president of the Lakewood police guild, said he served on an examination board for hiring the new chief. He said Farrar tested better than the other candidates.

“He understands Lakewood, where we’ve been and where we need to go,” Wurts said.

Mayor Doug Richardson said Farrar’s a great choice and is highly regarded inside and outside Lakewood. Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor and Prosecuting Attorney Gerald Horne expressed support for Farrar, Neiditz said.

The new chief has “built bridges to all parts of the community,” Neiditz said, and has a business background that helps him relate well to local business people.

When some of them recently complained to the City Council about the lack of police response to property crimes, Farrar went to their businesses to see what was needed.

Neiditz said he likes the fact that Farrar is a committed, “hands-on chief” who joined the young department from its first day in 2004. The city manager said he talked to more than 60 police officers and employees about what was important to them.

Farrar said he hasn’t chosen an assistant chief. He said the first concern is to ensure that there are always enough officers to answer 911 emergency calls promptly.

He said keeping up department police staffing is hard because it’s tough to find qualified people to serve and it takes months of training before new officers can begin patrols.

At times when department staffing levels are low, he said he might have to borrow from the community policing program to handle 911 calls.

Farrar said Lakewood is an exciting place to work and noted that redevelopment has started, especially along the Interstate 5 corridor.

“Lakewood has grown, changed and matured so much,” he said. “I think people like the way we do business.”

Rob Tucker: 253-597-8374

Bret Farrar

Job: Lakewood police chief

Police chief pay: $109,000 annually, a 3.8-percent pay hike for him

Education: Graduate of Foster High School in Tukwila; took numerous business and police management courses

Family: Married with one teenaged daughter

Hobbies: Hunting and fishing with his father; going with his family to ocean beaches on the Washington coast

Previous jobs: Before going into police work 19 years ago, he worked in store management for Albertsons Corp. Also worked in family janitorial services business that later became a traffic supply company selling warning cones, paint-striping machines and other equipment.