Police chief to retire

In what he described as a "very difficult decision," Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse announced Wednesday he planned to retire by early next year.

"I've been toying with the idea for a while," Dinse said. "I've got 40 years in the business. I think it's time to try something different. Retirement is something I've been looking forward to."

Dinse said he informed Mayor Rocky Anderson of his decision last week. He said he wanted to give the mayor ample time to find his replacement and not leave the city with a long-term interim chief.

Meanwhile, Anderson said he would look both in-house and outside the department for a replacement. Soon he will be putting together a search committee of city employees and non-city employees to cull recommendations about who should be the new chief.

Dinse didn't plan on making his retirement public this soon. A memo announcing his retirement intended only for interoffice use was accidentally e-mailed Wednesday to news media. But Dinse said it was probably for the best.

"If I didn't go public I may not have made (the decision) ever," said Dinse, who noted he had been going back and forth on whether to step down.

In the memo, Dinse told his officers that "it has been a privilege and honor to be your chief . . . I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you for making my time as chief so personally satisfying and rewarding."

After consulting with his family, Dinse said they all agreed they'd like to spend more time with each other and travel more, and Dinse would like to spend more time with his new granddaughter.

"When you want to be other places than the office, it's time to move on," he said.

Dinse was hired as Salt Lake City's police chief in 2000 after spending 34 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. He was chief deputy with the LAPD by the time he retired from that department, overseeing the western Los Angeles district, which included the Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood and Venice Beach.

Dinse was significantly involved in the Los Angeles Police Department's handling of the 1984 Summer Games. He was planning coordinator for the 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II, a field commander during the 1992 riots and a task force commander during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

His comparatively short tenure in Salt Lake City was also active. The 2002 Olympics, the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping and the Lori Hacking murder all happened on his watch.