Junction City Manager Allen Dinkel has named Lt. Kirt Nichols the interim police chief for the Junction City Police Department.

Nichols has served the JCPD for 29 years. He will succeed Dan Breci who is retiring on Sept. 20. Breci has served 43 years in law enforcement and 20-years to the JCPD.

The national recruitment process for the new police chief has begun and will be a continous process until a new chief is selected. Application reviews began on Sept. 3 with first interviews taking place in the beginning of October.

In his current role Nichols oversees and manages the entire recruitment process for all of the new hires for JCPD. That list includes police officers, dispatchers, records clerks, animal control officers and any other support role for the JCPD.