Raleigh, N.C. — Two weeks after his first day on the job, Raleigh's new police chief was sworn in Tuesday morning during a ceremony in downtown.

Hundreds of people filled Fletcher Opera Theater at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts to watch police Chief Harry Dolan take the oath of office.

The former police chief in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dolan was an overwhelming favorite after several public forums to replace former Chief Jane Perlov, who resigned earlier this year.

Dolan, who was a Raleigh patrol officer in the 1980s, has said he wants to maintain the police department's success in the community but also plan for the city's future and challenges, such as growth, to ensure quality life in the community.

Prior to taking the job as police chief in Michigan, Dolan spent 18 of his 27 years of law enforcement in North Carolina. He was police chief in Lumberton and for the North Carolina Department of Human Resources Police Department in Black Mountain. He was also a Raleigh police officer from 1982 to 1987.

He has called his return to Raleigh a homecoming.

One of the more touching moments of Tuesday's ceremony was Dolan's sister, Marian Dolan, pinning the badge to her brother's uniform. She was diagnosed with and is being treated for ovarian cancer.

Dolan talked afterward about how significant it was to him and how important it was for him to have his sister there with him to be able to do that.