Police Chief William J. Bratton bid farewell Wednesday to the city and the members of the LAPD, saying he had "saved my best for last" as he prepares to end his 39-year police career.

Officers lined the hallways of the new Police Administration Building, standing at attention to honor Bratton for his accomplishments during seven years at the helm of a once-troubled agency.

Los Angels Police Chief William Bratton wipes away tears as he is signed off over the police radio Wednesday afternoon. Bratton left the Los Angeles Police Department after 8 years as chief. (Photo: David Crane)

"When I came here, the motto was 'too few, for too long asked to do too much with too little,"' Bratton said during an hour-long ceremony before the Los Angeles City Council.

"The department sought to keep itself separate from civilian control from the Police Commission and the political influences of the mayor and City Council. And it didn't work."

Hired in 2002, Bratton worked to change that attitude, and today's Los Angeles Police Department - with support from officials and the public - is now one of the more respected law enforcement agencies in the country.

Law enforcement officials from around the world come to the LAPD to learn about its best practices and see its programs in operation, Bratton said.

During his tenure, the LAPD has grown from about 9,400 officers to 10,000, while more than $1 billion has been spent on new buildings. The most notable is the Police Administration Building which officially opened last Saturday, but the figure includes two stations in the San Fernando Valley, an Emergency Operations Center and improvements to other facilities.

"We owe thanks to the taxpayers who have chosen to invest in this department," Bratton said. "And I owe thanks to the extraordinary men and women of the department."

Bratton gave the same message at his final monthly media briefing and in his final message to sworn officers.

Bratton's last official day is Saturday, when he will turn in his badge and gun and turn over control of the department to interim Chief Michael Downing.

In leaving, Bratton said he believed the department will continue the reforms under whichever of the three finalists for chief is chosen to succeed him - Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, Deputy Chief Charles Beck or Deputy Chief Michel Moore. The three candidates were by Bratton's side at the news conference, but avoided direct questions about what they will say to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in their interviews for the job.

Villaraigosa began the interviews on Wednesday with Beck and will interview McDonnell today and Moore on Friday. Villaraigosa said he hopes to announce his choice by Monday.

But Wednesday belonged to Bratton.

"Today, we are paying tribute to an extraordinary Angeleno," City Council President Eric Garcetti said. "He might have lived here only seven years, but he will always be a citizen of Los Angeles.

"I've learned a lot from him. There is a tendency in public life to set the bar too low and then be surprised when we surpass it by a point or two. I've learned from him that you have to set the bar high."

Bratton also used the media event to display a prototype of what he called the police car of the future.

With reports that Ford will stop manufacturing the Crown Victoria used by police agencies across the country, Bratton had the LAPD working with the Austrialian National Defense Foundation to develop the new car, using a Pontiac G8 frame and developed to accomodate police officers, with their needs to carry guns and wear bulletproof vests.

Bratton said it is hoped the car, with its built-in computers and cameras, will be manufactured by an American car firm.

Bratton said he appreciated the accolades, but then quoted a poet: "There are no great men or women, only men who respond to extraordinary challenges to do great things."

In looking back over his career - and the abrupt departures he has faced in other police chief jobs - Bratton said Los Angeles stands out over his career.

"Those of us who chose this career, who work here, what it is about is having a career of impact," Bratton said. "I think I saved the best for last."

Later in the afternoon, Bratton was surprised with an emotional "end-of-watch" ceremony, in which hundreds of officers and civilian employees lined up outside the LAPD headquarters to bid farewell.

Emerging from the building to applause, the smiling Bratton shook the officers' hands and gave them hugs.

Taking a microphone, the LAPD's 54th chief - initially choking up and at a loss for words - told the department the last seven years were the most exciting and satisfying time of his professional life.

"Together, we've done so much and together we've had the opportunity to take this department to new levels," Bratton said. "I hope you feel as I do that it was time well spent. I don't think anybody knows as well as I do how hard you have all worked to achieve these goals."

Afterward, Bratton walked to a waiting vehicle and drove down 1st Street, waving to motorcycle officers as an LAPD helicopter performed a flyover.

"He came in and was a breath of fresh air for the department," said LAPD Lt.Phillip Smith. "He came in during some troubling times and added some stability, and I think seven years later we're a better department."

Jaime Ramirez, an LAPD senior clerk typist, said Bratton was a very successful chief.

"I think he will be missed because he was one of the most aggressive chiefs toward crime, especially gang crime," Ramirez said. "He's been very tough on gang crime compared to other chiefs, and he will be greatly missed."

Click here to see the Daily News photo gallery of the chief's farewell ceremony.