Days after angering city leaders by threatening to stay on, Police Chief Daryl Gates has filed a formal request for retirement on June 28.
Gates, 65, filed his request Tuesday with the Pension Department, a rubber-stamp agency. With nearly 43 years with the Police Department, including 14 as chief, he will get an annual pension of $128,525. His salary is $177,000.The chief - who agreed during the furor over the Rodney King beating last year to retire in April - threatened last week to postpone his departure a second time unless some captains' eligibility for promotion was extended.
On Monday, however, he said he was merely bluffing and wanted to show that the Police Department had been taken over by "crummy little politicians."
Earlier Tuesday, the City Council approved a Police Commission request to hire an outside lawyer just in case Gates postpones his departure.
The council on Tuesday also approved an annual salary of $159,390 for Gates' successor, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Willie Williams, who is scheduled to be sworn in June 30.