GARY, Ind. (AP) - Gary's mayor has appointed a sixth police chief in less than four years for the crime-plagued northwestern Indiana city.

Mayor Rudy Clay's announcement Tuesday of Gary Carter as the new
chief comes as the city has had more than a dozen homicides since
early October. Clay says he didn't demote former Chief Reginald
Harris last week because of the crime wave, but that he expected
Carter to end it.

Carter says 22 full-time officers will join the force at the end of the year, bringing it to 246 officers. Carter is a 19-year veteran of the Gary police and became deputy chief in January.

Clay replaced the police chief after he became mayor in April 2006 and has since put four others in the job.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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