COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers says he is retiring.

Myers said Monday he agreed to leave in mid-November after Mayor Steve Bach told Myers he was ready to “make a change in direction.” Bach was elected in May as the city’s first strong mayor.

In the past year, the department has had two officers arrested, including one accused of molesting children. Now the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is investigating the department’s undercover sting at a Hooters restaurant and other bars. Prosecutors ended up dropping charges against a Hooters waitress whom undercover detectives had accused of serving an intoxicated patron.

Myers was appointed police chief in January 2007.

Colorado Springs Police Protective Association President Pete Tomitsch says Myers was successful in what he did during some challenging and tumultuous years.

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