ST. LOUIS (KTRS) Following a morning meeting with Mayor Lyda Krewson and other city leaders, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson is retiring. In a news release from her office on her first full day in office, Krewson says Dotson, a 23-year veteran of the Police Department, will continue to serve the police force as a consultant for one year. Dotson is 47.

Krewson’s spokesman says Dotson made the decision after talking with Krewson about the police department’s future. Dotson’s departure comes three years after his department came under scrutiny during the often tumultuous months following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson.

Krewson says a search will begin immediately to find a new Police Chief and Director of Public Safety. Lt. Colonel and Assistant Police Chief Larry O’Toole will serve as acting police chief in the interim.

O’Toole is a 33-year veteran of the St. Louis Police Metropolitan Police Department and has served in every rank of the department. In 2009 he began his service as Deputy Commander of the Bureau of community policing and served in that role until 2013 when he began serving as the Deputy Commander of the Bureau of professional standards. He was promoted to Assistant Chief on July 9, 2015.