MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP) — Murphysboro’s next police chief is a law student who works in accounting and was a police officer in Alabama.

The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports Chad Roberts will begin work Sept. 28. He replaces the retiring Brian Hollo.

Roberts has worked since February as financial manager for EWTN Global Catholic Media — a nonprofit based in Irondale, Alabama. He was a Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s sergeant for eight years before that, after serving five years as an investigator.

He’s a student at the Birmingham School of Law. He expects to finish in December 2018 with a concentration in contract law and taxation.

Mayor Will Stephens says Roberts was the most qualified of six candidates for the $61,000-a-year job.

The department has 16 full-time officers.