INDIANAPOLIS -- Troy Riggs, the chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, will be leaving his position at the end of 2016, Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Wednesday.
Riggs took the position in January 2016, when Hogsett took office. Both Riggs and Hogsett said it was Riggs' decision to leave.
"This was a decision that I had to make, and I think the mayor knew when we talked last December that this could be a reality," Riggs said. "But I have to think about the future of my family, the financial future and that is something that I have looked upon and sought counsel."
Riggs did say salary was one factor in his decision.
"The pay is what it is in the state of Indiana," Riggs said. "It's one reason people come to Indiana, to take talent. And we've lost some talent before. That's not the mayor's fault, it's just the structure. It may change over time. Maybe this will give the impetus to change."
Riggs makes about $117,187.20 per year, according to the mayor's office.
He said he is not looking to be a police chief anywhere else.
"The reason I chose not to go back to policing is I've done 27 years in public safety," he said. "I've worked, now, for four different police departments. I can't think of another police department I'd rather be chief of."
Hogsett said Indianapolis is already looking for a replacement.
"We'll have big boots to fill," he said. "We'll be able to fill them, and we'll fill them every bit as good and if not, hopefully better than Troy was able to do."
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry released a statement on Riggs' departure.
“The City of Indianapolis has been well served by Troy Riggs as Director of Public Safety and IMPD Chief," Curry said. "He has set the department on the correct path with a holistic approach to public safety, and I am confident that his successor will continue down that path.”
Riggs was previously Indianapolis' public safety director under Mayor Greg Ballard, before stepping down in 2015 to take a position at IUPUI.
When Riggs was hired, Hogsett said Indianapolis was in a "public safety crisis."
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Riggs didn't say what he'll be doing next, but did say he has some offers on the table.
The announcement will come in early 2017, he said.
