Appealing face of police chief (8)

I believe the answer is:

pleading

'appealing' is the definition.
(pleading is a kind of appealing)

'face of police chief' is the wordplay.
'face of' suggests taking the first letters.
'chief' becomes 'leading' (both can mean major or prominent).
The initial letter of 'police' is 'p'.
'p'+'leading'='PLEADING'

(Other definitions for pleading that I've seen before include "Take no risks" , "Begging" , "Imploring" , "Appealing emotionally" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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