Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik Jr. will retire September 1, according to an internal memo sent Thursday to employees at the transit agency.

Pavlik will retire after 25 years with the department, said Paul Wiedefeld, Metro’s general manager, in the memo. He praised the chief’s tenure, citing Pavlik’s work in helping create a review panel to investigate transit police and creating a computer-based training program for first responders. Pavlik, who was promoted to the role in 2013, oversees a force of about 800 officers and civilian employees. 

“Ron has been an extraordinary leader on whom I have relied to ensure the safety and security of our passengers and employees daily,” Wiedefeld said in the memo. “However, I understand why Ron and his family are looking forward to the next chapter in their story.”  

A spokesperson with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) declined to make Pavlik available for an interview. Assistant Chief Michael Anzallo will serve as interim police chief for the transit agency, Wiedefeld said. 

Metro Transit Police has faced scrutiny in recent years. 

In February 2020, a video circulated online of Metro police officers arresting a 13-year-old boy, sparking an outcry over what people viewed as excessive use of force. 

Days later, The Washington Post reported officers informally competed with each other for arrests and citations in a weekly competition hosted by a supervisor. A Metro spokesperson said top commanders shut down the competition as soon as they learned about it.  

A report last month from Metro’s inspector general found Metro Transit Police did not investigate thousands of reported crimes on the transit system between 2010 and 2017. The 20-page report found the transit police’s criminal investigation division failed to review complaints that included armed robberies, sexual offenses, kidnapping, and assaults. 

A spokesperson for WMATA said transit police is conducting an internal investigation into how the failures happened but could not provide a timeline on when that investigation will conclude.