EDGEWOOD — Capt. Tony Kramer of the Kenton County Police was tapped Tuesday to lead the police department of this Northern Kentucky suburb.

        Capt. Kramer, chosen from a field of 61 applicants for one of Northern Kentucky's plum law-enforcement assignments, will oversee a department with an annual operating budget of more than $1 million and 11 officers responsible for patrolling the 4 1/2-square-mile Kenton County city.

        “It is a dream of mine to be a police chief,” said Capt. Kramer, 37, of Independence. “They have a great department, and it seemed like a golden opportunity to fulfill my dream.”

        He has been on the Kenton County Police force for 10 1/2 years and serves as the supervisor of the Bureau of Operations. He supervises five sergeants, 15 police officers and five school resource officers.

        He supervised the Kenton County detectives called in to investigate the killing of Delta Air Lines pilot Stephen Craven, found shot and beaten to death in his Edgewood home in 2000. The high-profile case was handed over to the Kenton County Police, which has a criminal-investigations unit.

        The Fort Thomas native, father of two and Northern Kentucky University graduate will be paid $52,779 per year. Capt. Kramer is currently seeking a master's in public administration from NKU.

        He was one of 61 applicants from 28 states and the District of Columbia who applied for the job. The seven finalists interviewed were all current Northern Kentucky law-enforcement officials, many of whom are veterans on their respective forces.

        The Northern Kentucky Area Development District was hired to conduct a search, and the interviews were conducted by Mayor John Link and City Administrator Roger Rolfes. NKADD is a resource agency for local governments and social-service organizations.

        “We had a lot of very well-qualified candidates,” Mr. Rolfes said.

        Capt. Kramer replaces Steve Vollmar, who retired early this year after serving as police chief for four years.

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