Benny Dubose, the chief of the Meridian Police Department, resigned on Thursday, the city said in a news release.

The MPD veteran served as chief of police from 2002 to 2009, returning to the post in 2014.

Dubose offered no comment about the resignation, but said he would provide a statement on Friday, and Mayor Percy Bland would not comment or say who would serve as interim chief.

“I am thankful for the service Chief Dubose has provided the City of Meridian,” Bland said in the news release.

“While my team and I are carefully working through our next steps, I want to assure the citizens that I am treating this change as an opportunity. Any time we can take a step back and reevaluate what we are doing is an opportunity to move forward, to grow.”

Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie, who was MPD chief when Dubose was assistant chief, said he will be missed in the community.

Sollie said he talked to Dubose a few days ago and didn’t get an indication that Dubose was going to step down. 

“It was a shock,” Sollie said about Dubose’s resignation.