Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers announced Monday he will retire from the department.

Myers has been chief of the department since January 2007 and has been chief at four other departments as well. Myers has served as an officer for 35 years.

Monday he announced his plans to retire after rumors had surfaced that Mayor Steve Bach had asked him leave. Myers said in a statement he chose to leave to make room for Bach's management team.

"When Mayor Bach was elected, I told him I was here to serve, and would do so loyally and do my best to lead the department in the direction he wanted to take the City, until such time that he felt he needed to bring in his own chief," Myers said in a statement. "Recently, he informed me he is ready to make a change in direction, and he is continuing to methodically create his own management team. Consequently, I have agreed to make room for this to happen by retiring from the CSPD. I have been positioning the PD to make the changes sought by the Mayor, and have every confidence that the men and women of the Department are well prepared to implement those changes."

Bach would not comment on specifics about Myers' retirement but said he did a great job as a police chief.

"We have one of the best police departments in the country, and a lot of that we owe to Rick Myers as chief, and the good people he's led along the way," Bach said.

Bach said Myers chose to retire, and he respects his decision.

"We have a new form of government. We now have a full-time mayor in an executive position. Previously the police chief reported through the city manager to nine city council members, now the police chief reports to our Chief of Staff Steve Cox, then to me the mayor," Bach said. "I think that sometimes when you get a new CEO of an organization it causes people to decide that they want to do something different, or the CEO decides to do something different. In this case I think the focus should be on thanking Rick Myers for five years of great service."

For a lot of people, Myers' decision came as a shock.

"I want to say that we are both saddened and shocked at the announcement today that our Chief Richard Myers will be leaving," Pete Tomitsch, President of the Colorado Springs Police Protective Association (CSPPA), said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Some Colorado Springs city council members said they were also shocked by Myers' announcement but added they were even more shocked by their own mayor keeping them in the dark.

"The first I heard about this was from the news media, and I heard rumors over the last couple of days of which I discounted because I figured that obviously a decision of this magnitude would not be made without consultation of the other nine elected officials. Clearly I was wrong," Scott Hente, city council president, said.

Hente said he and some of his other colleagues were frustrated by the lack of communication with the Mayor's office.

"This is not about my ego, this is not about the ego of council members or the ego of the mayor. This is about doing right for our community and doing right for community is establishing a level of communication and trust between our two levels of government," Hente said.

Bach said the city's form of government changed when he took office, and that's something city council will have to get used to.

"Previously we had a city manager that reported to nine city council people who were in the loop on everything, now we have effectively a mirror image of the national government," Bach said.

Bach said Myers' retirement was a human resource matter, which is confidential.

"We did not consult with city council on this matter until today when Rick Myers made his final decision. I felt, personally, that that would be inappropriate given that he had not come to that decision. I certainly did not mean any disrespect to city council members, sorry if some have ruffled feathers. HR matters are confidential and will remain confidential," Bach said.

Still Hente said communication must improve between the two government offices.

"I have asked a couple different times for a meeting with the mayor today and that has gone unheeded, and really whatever decision process went on behind this whatever precipitated this, I have no knowledge of, and that to me again is very frustrating and disappointing," Hente said.

City Chief of Staff Steve Cox said an interim chief will be put in place while they conduct a nationwide search for Myers' replacement.

"What we're looking for is a person who could be an innovator, a person that has experience in difficult financial times, that would be able to look at a department from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top," Cox said.

Cox said once a candidate is selected, they would have to go before city council for final approval.

Tomitsch said he hopes the mayor selects someone with a lot of the qualities Chief Myers had and someone who has the best interest of the citizens of Colorado Springs in mind.

"Chief Myers was incredibly successful in what he did here under some very challenging and tumultuous years. He was able to keep the crime rate down, and he was able to do it with about 60 less officers than we had three years ago. It's a credit to him and his leadership ability," Tomitsch said.

Since Myers' tenure, the department has seen a $6 million reduction.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had to lay off some of our talented non-sworn staff, but I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reduce almost 50 police officer positions without having to lay off a single officer through strategic use of attrition,” Myers said. “I’m hopeful that moving forward, the Department can continue to strategically use attrition to make needed cuts without layoffs. The people in the organization are the most valuable resource there is, and need to be cared for.”

Myers has indicated he wants to stay in the community.

"We have completely fallen in love with Colorado Springs and the whole state of Colorado," Myers said. “After an almost 35 year career in policing, and successfully leading an organization like CSPD, I’m confident that my leadership skills are transferrable and may be of value somewhere here in the region."

District attorney Dan May also commented on Myers' retirement.

"I am sorry to hear that Chief Richard Myers will no longer be at the helm of the Colorado Springs Police Department," May said in a statement. "In my many dealings with Chief Myers, I have always found him to be a consummate professional; thorough, honest and dedicated to the safety of the community we serve. I would like to wish the Chief the best of luck in all his future endeavors."