Commerce City Police Chief Clint Nichols will turn in his badge and begin transitioning to a life of retirement later this month.

Nichols, whose served as chief of the Commerce City Police Department since 2017, announced his retirement Thursday night. His last day is July 25, according to the department. 

Nichols said in a statement that he made the decision to retire after recent circumstances indicate a “perception among some that I am no longer the right person” to lead the agency.

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“In the best interest of our community and the Commerce City Police Department, I have decided to retire and allow the agency to start fresh under new leadership to continue making a positive change,” he said.

Recently, Nichols had become the subject of scrutiny after he was stopped for a traffic violation in Utah while traveling between Commerce City and his family’s home in Las Vegas, according to the city’s announcement. 

The city is investigating the circumstances surrounding the traffic violations.

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Nichols began his career in law enforcement in 1992 as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He remained with the department before becoming the police commander in Commerce City in 2015.

The following year, Nichols was named deputy chief of police and was named chief seven months later. 

While leading the department, Nichols helped implement several policy reforms and updates in relation to use of force, de-escalation and training about biased based policing.

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Nichols also oversaw the addition of the You Have Options program for sexual assault reporting and the creation of the Commerce City-Brighton Sexual Assault Task Force.

“I want to thank Chief Nichols for his years of service to our community and his dedication to improving the Commerce City Police Department,” said City Manager Roger Tinklenberg in a news release.

“He has been a driver of our police reform efforts through some challenging times. While the circumstances of his departure stem not from malcontent or misconduct, I agree that the best course of action at this time is to seek new leadership for CCPD going forward.”

Tinklenberg will name an acting chief of police by July 25.