On Friday, Santa Monica Police Chief Cynthia Renaud finally announced that she will retire early, effective on October 25, 2020, after 60,000 people have signed up a petition demanding her removal.

The said announcement was made by Interim City Manager Lane Dilg. According to Dilg, the police chief recognized their failure to protect businesses and properties from the devastating Black Lives Matter protests. The call for Renaud’s resignation began on May 31, following the violent George Floyd protests. According to reports, local residents complained about the police department’s failure to protect the iconic Santa Monica Pier.

During the unprecedented attack, looters and rioters broke the way into the Santa Monica Place Mall. The criminals broke store glass windows and ransacked items from the mall. In addition, others also rushed to the coastal town’s downtown area, where masked assailants would also smash store windows using their skateboards or other blunt objects. Looters immediately cleared the shops, as they stole everything they could carry. Amidst the chaos, an armed volunteer protected one of the stores. However, as soon as he left, the rioters immediately took over.

Other rioters vandalized federal property, including public libraries and courthouses, with words condemning the police. Throughout the intense protest, law enforcement officers were able to make as many as 400 arrests in a single day. Unfortunately, the department refused to press charges.

In a Breitbart News report, the media outlet captured images of local residents coming together to clean up the debris and damage that the protests caused. Renaud immediately issued a public statement to appeal to the community. In her letter, the police chief recognized that their primary duty was to protect the lives of the people in the city. Renaud believed that they did what they could to deploy officers and even “mutual aid partners” to protect the businesses and properties in Santa Monica during the lootings.

However, Renaud claimed that despite their best efforts, the police department failed to stop what she considered a “small group” of rioters from ransacking and destroying local businesses and properties. “Every broken window, fire, and loss of goods hurts us and our community,” the police chief appealed. Renaud continued by saying that while physical damages might be replaced, she shares that the violent riots will leave a lasting trauma to the community. “Broken windows can be replaced, and buildings can be repaired, but the lives of Santa Monicans, peaceful protestors, my officers, and even the looters, would have been impossible to restore if lost that day,” the police chief wrote.

Currently, the petition already holds a total of 66,362 signatures. According to reports, former Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks came out of retirement to replace Renaud.

Moving forward, Renaud will be assigned as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) president, an organization that boasts 31,000 members across 165 nations. She will start her tenure on October 23.

This is not the first time that police chiefs resigned following the devastating riots. In Seattle, former Police Chief Carmen Best also retired after months of massive riots and lack of support from elected officials.