Monroe Police Chief Dr. Quentin Holmes has announced his retirement, effective July 30.
Holmes said he wants to work in education and criminal justice reform, and explained that he wants to teach at the university level. Holmes said during his tenure many goals were met, including equipment upgrades for police officers, better training and pay increases for the police department.
Monroe has had a number of high profile crimes in recent months. The Monroe City Council recently approved the hiring of a crime consultants Spears and Associates to offer ideas and solutions. Holmes said the the decision to bring in an outside consultant did not influence his decision to retire.
Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo accepted the resignation. Mayo said the chief worked in a professional and prudent way. Mayo said, "I never asked him to resign, I never asked him to retire."
Mayo said the process of hiring a new chief will be announced in the next ten days.
Chief Holmes said he had been thinking about a change since October of 2016. He said he is looking forward to a vacation and then will begin searching for a teaching job. Holmes said he performed well during his leadership and left the police department better off than when he started. Holmes started as a Monroe City patrolman in 1985.
Monroe officials will hold a public meeting on crime Thursday night.
