Baton Rouge Chief of Police Pat Englade announced Monday he willretire in the “foreseeable future.”
Paul Thompson, chief administrative officer of Baton RougeMayor-President Bobby Simpson’s office said the officereceived a letter saying Englade will start the retirementprocess.
Thompson said Englade, 52, has not set a definitive date,because first he has to make sure his two retirement funds are inorder.
“He has let the Mayor’s Office know he would beretiring in the foreseeable future,” Thompson said.
Thompson said Englade cited health reasons leading to hisretirement announcement.
He said Englade wrote in the letter “My health has beenaffected by the stress of the job, and I must do what is best formyself and my family.”
Thompson said the Mayor-President’s Office will start thepreliminary steps in finding a new chief immediately.
Thompson also said he and Simpson agree that Chief Englade hasdone a “fantastic job.”
“Although we respect his decision to start his retirement,we hate to see him go,” Thompson said.
Englade hinted that he was “planning to retire” inearly September after The Advocate published an article showingpolice records that stated Englade had taken off more than aquarter of the last three months.
Englade responded in the article saying he suffered from medicalissues.
Englade has been serving as Baton Rouge Chief of Police sinceJanuary 2001.