Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir submits her resignation

PHOENIX – Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir has submitted her resignation after four-plus years on the job and will step down next month, the city announced Tuesday.

Moir has been in her current role since becoming the East Valley city’s first female police chief in March 2016. Her tenure will end Oct. 25.

City Manager Andrew Ching, who will appoint an interim chief in the near future, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that he’d been in talks with Moir about her departure “over the last few months.”

“I think she’s done some really good work here as police chief, but I feel like it’s time to move in another direction,” he said.

“I feel like new leadership is needed to do a lot of the things that need to be done over the next weeks, months and even years with policing in Tempe.”

Last month, Mayor Corey Woods announced that he would form a public safety task force aimed at examining and innovating policing in Tempe, Arizona’s eighth-largest city.

“Chief Moir served the residents of Tempe well,” Woods, who took office in July, said in a press release.

“She cares deeply for our community members and Tempe Police employees, and she has worked tirelessly to move our department forward. I have truly enjoyed working with her and wish her all the best.”

Moir, a California native, spent six years as El Cerrito Police Department chief before coming to Tempe, according to her bio.

Before then, she served in multiple roles with the Sacramento Police Department.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this report.

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