DETROIT – Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans has resigned.
Evans sent his resignation letter to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and his resignation is effective beginning Wednesday."We appreciate the time and dedication that Warren Evans has given to the Detroit Police Department. He has put the department on a path to reducing crime," said Bing on Wednesday in a statement.
Evans has not said why he decided to resign.Evans came under fire in May when he allowed a reality film crew follow officers as they executed a search warrant for a murder suspect. During the execution, an officer allegedly shot and killed a 7-year-old girl who was sleeping inside of the home.
A.C. Goodbee will serve as interim chief.
Evans became the third Detroit police chief of the year when he assumed the position last summer. He replaced Chief James Barren after he was fired.Bing had said that Barren didn't do anything wrong, but he felt that the Police Department needed a leadership change and that Evans would bring a more proactive approach to fighting crime.
Bing and Evans were once political rivals as they both were candidates in February's primary to complete the term of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.Evans had been sheriff since 2003. He was hired by the county as a deputy in 1970. He served as undersheriff from 1987 to 1991 under then-Sheriff Robert Ficano. Evans — like Ficano, Kilpatrick and Gov. Jennifer Granholm — also was part of late Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara's political machine where he ran the county's Community Justice Department.Evans ran a criminal/juvenile justice consulting firm beginning in 1997 and later served for two years as special operations chief in the county prosecutor's office before becoming sheriff.