Atlanta's second-ranking police officer is not moving to Charlotte.

Assistant Chief Alan Dreher was a finalist for Charlotte's police-chief position, but city officials offered the job to someone else Thursday.

Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe accepted the job the same day, ending Charlotte's five-month search.

Dreher and Monroe worked together at the police department in Washington years ago.

Tim Mayes, Charlotte's human resources director, said that all three final candidates, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Deputy Chief Jerry Sennett, could have "done the job and done it well."

"We were really impressed with Alan Dreher ... we liked him a lot," Mayes said in an e-mail.

What made Monroe stand out, Mayes said, is that he has already been a police chief. Before working in Richmond, Monroe was the police chief in Macon from 2001-05.

"While Alan and Jerry Sennett had great track records at high administrative levels, Rodney Monroe was the only one of the three finalists that had been a Police Chief, and at the end of the day, that was something in his favor," Mayes wrote.

Dreher said in an e-mail that he was not available for comment Monday.