Lawton's new police chief is settling into his job and said the welcome from the community has been overwhelming.

James T. Smith, who began work as chief Monday was sworn in at Tuesday's Lawton City Council meeting, said he's been impressed by the welcome from all segments of the community.

"I'm an outsider, but they have made me feel right at home," he said.

"It's been a fast two days," he said.

"This is a very good police agency ... so far, there haven't been any surprises."

The new chief was selected after a nationwide search to replace Ronnie Smith, who resigned as chief in March. Before coming to Lawton he was a major and commander of the special operations division for the Louisville (Ky.) Metro Police Department, where he supervised special weapons and tactics, hostage negotiation team, special response team, joint emergency services unit, dive team, dignitary protection team, bomb unit, peer support, mounted patrol, canine unit, traffic unit, air unit, honor guard, river unit, community relations and special operations.

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