Michael McTaggart has been unanimously selected by the Des Moines City Council as the city’s 45th police chief.

The council made the decision on Wednesday during a special meeting.

McTaggart, who began his career as a Des Moines police officer 25 years ago, will replace Chief Dana Wingert, who last spring announced plans to retire. Wingert’s final day with the city will be Nov. 5.

McTaggart “stood out as a candidate not only for his achievements, but also for the relationships he has built in our community over the past 25 years,” City Manager Scott Sanders said in a prepared statement. “Chief McTaggart will have big shoes to fill in his new role, and I have the utmost confidence that he will be able to rise to the challenge.”

McTaggart, who became a major in the department in 2022, has spent time in the patrol division, robbery/homicide section, intelligence unit and the investigations division. As a major, he oversaw the department’s largest division, operations. McTaggart also has helped implement and grow the department’s CARE program that provides non-law enforcement responses to some emergency calls. He also has helped grow the Mobile Crisis Response Team and spearheaded a downtown safety plan.

McTaggart, whose annual salary will be $200,000, has a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. He has completed training at the Senior Management Institute for Police with the Police Executive Research Forum and the School of Police Staff & Command with Northwestern University.