LYNWOOD | About 31 years ago, the village had four police officers and a population of about 1,000 people.

And since that time, the police force has grown to 20 full-time officers and five part-time officers, while Lynwood now has about 10,000 people.

Russell Pearson has seen both ends of that period, and now he will see what is expected to be continued growth as Lynwood's police chief.

The Village Board on Tuesday made it official, as trustees approved Pearson's promotion from deputy police chief to police chief, replacing David Palmer. Effective March 12, the promotion was approved unanimously.

Pearson, whose birthday happened to be Tuesday, has been with the department for 31 years after working for three years with the Cook County Forest Preserve police's North Creek Division.

"When I first came out (to Lynwood), patrol worked from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.," he said. "Midnight on was covered by the sheriff's department and during the day, whomever was chief worked alone.

"We're still very rural," but have grown a lot. You could sit in the gas station parking lot on Torrence Avenue and Glenwood-Dyer Road and hear nothing more than the traffic signals switching over."

Among his goals are to place officers in specialized units within the department, as well as place additional officers on regional units such as the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, the Illiana Gang Task Force or the South Suburban Emergency Response Team.

"We want to get more officers working on our tactical unit. We want to keep drugs from getting a foothold in town," said Pearson, who for the previous 14 years as deputy chief ran patrol shifts, kept payroll and managed officers under Palmer.

Palmer, who spent 22 years with the Illinois State Police, told The Times earlier this month he had been asked for his resignation.

Lynwood Village President Gene Williams said there were some differences between the two officials.

"We had some philosophical differences that led us in different directions," he said. "We decided it was best to amiably part ways at this time. The board wishes David nothing but the best in all of his future endeavors."

In other action, the Lynwood Village Board:

-- Approved a resolution to pay capital expenditures from proceeds of an obligation in the redevelopment of the North Creek project.

-- Approved a variance to allow Gregory Mitchell, of 19721 Lake Park Drive, to build a 14-foot by 20-foot addition with a rear setback of 20 feet.