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After a little more than three years on the job, Provo Police Chief John King is stepping down to deal with out-of-state, family-related medical issues.
Corey Norman, spokesman for Provo Mayor John Curtis, said that King's resignation was effective Tuesday morning. King will take about two weeks of accumulated vacation time, but intended to return to the Baltimore, Md., area.
Norman said the mayor has known for about a month that King at least intended to take an extended leave of absence as his mother faced chemotherapy. Late Monday, however, the leave became a resignation, apparently as his mother's health worsened.
The mayor's office has met with the department's captains about the transition, and one of them — a captain who does not intend to apply for the chief's job — will be named interim chief.
Norman said that given the circumstances, the city plans on an expedited, three-month search for a permanent replacement for King.
In a brief resignation letter dated Tuesday to "All Provo Police Staff," King wrote that his time as chief had been "the best professional experience of my career."
"The people of Provo have time and time again supported our department because of the effort and compassion that members of this agency display on a daily basis," he concluded. "Please keep up the excellent service and keep working to improve."
King was named to replace former chief Rick Gregory in November 2013. A 30-plus-year veteran of law enforcement, King had previously been director of the police academy in Hagerstown, Md., and prior to that police chief in Gaithersburg, Md.
King's departure was the latest in a parade of Provo police chiefs over the past six years. Gregory, who also cited family issues when he resigned after just two years, had replaced Dave Bolda in June 2011; Bolda had served as interim chief for six months after Craig Geslison retired in January 2011 — just as an external investigation into his department began in the wake of three ex-officers being accused of misconduct.
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