Breaking: Eden Announces His Retirement

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said Saturday that he will retire effective November 30, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Eden made the announcement in a email to APD personnel, the Journal reported.

The Journal quoted the email as saying, “As happy as I am to be moving on to the next chapter of my life, I can’t help but be a little sad that I won’t be seeing all of you on such a regular basis. I have enjoyed (almost) every moment here, from the funny conversations in the hallways to supporting victims and our officers at critical events.”

Eden took over as chief in early 2014 and his tenure at APD has been a rocky one. During that time, APD signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the department. But in the three years since the agreement was signed, the independent monitor in the case, James Ginger, has repeatedly accused APD's command staff of purposely obstructing the reform process.

The retirement announcement wasn't unexpected, though, as both mayoral candidates, Tim Keller and Dan Lewis, have said they would fire Eden.

Eden's retirement comes after a week of controversy at APD. Ginger issued another scathing report that accused the department's command staff of obstructing the reform process. It was the sixth negative report that APD has received since signing the settlement agreement with the DOJ in November of 2014.

And last week, APD revealed that Assistant Chief Bob Huntsman had secretly recorded Ginger in March of 2016. In a motion filed in federal court, the city accused Ginger of being biased against APD.