A veteran patrolman with long ties to the Island will take over as Chilmark police chief on July 1.

Brian A. Cioffi, 34, was named chief at a meeting of the Chilmark selectmen on Tuesday night.

“I am both honored and humbled to get this position,” Mr. Cioffi said yesterday.

Mr. Cioffi will replace chief Tim Rich who retires July 1 after serving the town for more than 30 years. Mr. Cioffi has been involved in law enforcement up-Island since 1999. He started as a Chilmark special police officer, then went to work for the town of West Tisbury for a year as a police officer. He returned to Chilmark as a full-time patrolman in 2001.

His wife Kari works as a seventh and eighth grade math teacher at the West Tisbury School. They have a two-year-old son Bryce.

Selectman Warren Doty said he is pleased with the appointment, though last Friday when three finalists were interviewed, it was clear that the decision would not be easy: “All three candidates were very well qualified and would have been appropriate for our town. So it was hard to choose,” Mr. Doty said.

Selectmen narrowed the field to three finalists from an initial pool of 18 applications. The other two finalists were Mike Miksch, a police officer in Carver and Daniel Rossi, a police officer in West Tisbury. The interviews last Friday took four hours.

Mr. Doty, who has been a selectman for 10 years, said choosing a police chief was one of the most important appointments he has made; selectmen also act as police commissioners. And he praised the work of Chief Rich. “He has done an excellent job,” Mr. Doty said.

Mr. Cioffi credits his interest in police work to his grandparents and one state police officer. He said his grandparents, Robert W. and Dorothy Kelley, have been an inspiration to him throughout his life. Mr. Kelley was executive vice president of the Edgartown National Bank for 30 years. “My goal is to carry on what my grandfather set in place many years ago. I see my role as being for the community, to be helpful and take part in events,” Mr. Cioffi said.

And he said Jeffrey Stone, a veteran Island state police trooper, has been a mentor to him. “He taught me that everybody is a person, there is no difference between a police officer and those living in the community. Everyone has their good times and problems in life,” Mr. Cioffi said.