Lawrence Police Chief Gregory Burns Jr. took over the department in October. After serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, Burns became a police officer in 1993, and served most recently as assistant police chief in Louisville, Kentucky.

The new Lawrence police chief is scheduled to be the featured speaker at an upcoming public event.

The League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County is planning a conversation with Chief Gregory Burns Jr. for its monthly “Hot Topic” event, according to an event page posted by the League on Facebook. The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St.

Burns took over the Lawrence Police Department in October, becoming the first chief in at least 30 years to come in from an outside agency and the city’s first African-American police chief since a black man held the position of “city marshal” for a number of months in the 1890s.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Burns most recently was assistant police chief at the Louisville Metro Police Department.