Police union leaders are praising the appointment of one of their own to be the new director of the fund that oversees claims by officers injured in the line of duty.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced yesterday that he is appointing the president of the lieutenants’ union, Anthony Garvey, to be director of the New York City Police Pension Fund. The fund has the final word on which line-of-duty disability claims, including those related to the ground zero cleanup, are approved.

Some police union officials have been critical of how the police department has handled the claims. One of those critics, the sergeants’ union president, Edward Mullins, praised the appointment of Mr. Garvey yesterday, saying his leadership could make the claims process more “fair.”

“It alleviates our concerns, having a union person there,” Mr. Mullins said. “I don’t know if you’ll get more or you’ll get less; I think what you want to look for is that you’ll get fairness.”

The previous director was Michael Welsome, a former deputy inspector who is retiring.

The Police Pension Fund approves or denies claims after they are reviewed by an independent medical board. Its trustees include both city officials and union leaders.

The pension fund is in the process of reviewing more than 3,000 disability claims related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“He’s well-informed with respect to 9/11 and its health effects,” the president of the detectives’ union, Michael Palladino, said of Mr. Garvey. “He will act in the best interest of the beneficiaries of the Police Pension Fund.” The fund oversees $21 billion in assets and supports 46,000 retired police department employees.

Mr. Garvey said yesterday that he looks forward to working with the trustees for the “betterment of the members of the service.”