It’s one of the toughest jobs in all of police work — investigating fellow officers accused of wrongdoing.

And in the Buffalo Police Department, it is not a job that many would want.

But Harold M. McLellan says he is up to the task.

McLellan, 49, a 25-year veteran of the department, was recently elevated to the rank of inspector in charge of the Internal Affairs Division at a ceremony in Police Headquarters attended by Mayor Byron W. Brown, interim Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda and Chief of Detectives Dennis J. Richards.

Widely regarded as fair and thorough by fellow police officers and brass, McLellan joined the force in September 1984 and has served as a captain and executive officer in Internal Affairs since May 2004. He succeeds Inspector Patrick G. Stafford, who retired in December.

“I’m honored by the promotion, and I fully understand the importance that this position holds in the community,” McLellan said.

In addition to all the difficulty inherent in investigating alleged police misconduct, there is a widely held view that the purpose of Internal Affairs is to sweep citizen complaints — often dealing with police brutality — under the rug.

“I think that what he really needs to do, since he knows what goes on and has been around the block a couple times, is to let police officers know that citizens actually pay their salaries and need to be treated with respect,” said community activist and former gang member Darnell Jackson.

Citing what’s known as “the blue wall,” a reluctance by some police officers to report misconduct by fellow officers, Jackson said that such behavior cannot be tolerated.

“We need somebody who is going to be in that position who will not allow this type of activity to go on. We need police officers to realize citizens are human and have a right to file complaints, and it shouldn’t be that the complaints are thrown into the garbage, but are thoroughly investigated,” he said.

While Jackson acknowledged that it is a tiny percentage of officers who behave poorly, he says that if a strong disciplinary message is sent, it will ultimately save the city money in reducing the number of police-brutality lawsuits.

Police officials, in offering insights into why McLellan was selected for this position, said that not everyone is cut out to do the job of disciplining officers, but that McLellan possesses the mettle needed.

“I think he will do a fantastic job, just as he has done wherever he has been assigned his whole career,” Derenda said. “He’s the right man for the job. . . . He’s a strong disciplinarian and fair-minded.”

Stafford, who now works as an attorney in private practice in West Seneca, said the last five years in Internal Affairs — formerly known as Professional Standards — have groomed McLellan for the position.

“I can’t think of anyone in the department who would be more qualified,” Stafford said. “I think he will do a good job.”

James P. Giammaresi, a former chief of staff with the Police Department and longtime acquaintance of McLellan, said, “He is very, very efficient and by-the-book, but yet fair.”

Thomas H. Burton, trial counsel for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, said he anticipates that McLellan will continue to be fair. “Many times, I represent officers whose split-second decisions put them on the razor’s edge of being heroes or potentially murderers, and these are obviously sensitive cases,” Burton said. “Now-Inspector McLellan has always treated street cops fairly, but he is certainly no pushover. Internal Affairs is a tough and thankless job.”

McLellan, who previously served as a district chief and worked for years in the Patrol Division, possesses a personal perspective on just how challenging and dangerous police work can be for the typical officer out on the streets.

On Feb. 25, 1998, Buffalo Police Officer Robert J. McLellan, his brother, was killed in the line of duty when he was struck by a car on the Kensington Expressway. He was hit while pursuing a fugitive in a foot chase across the highway near Cherry Street at about 6:30 a. m.

Inspector McLellan said, “I know my brother would be very proud, and I never want to forget him.”