Columbia Police Chief Mike Cooper announced his resignation Monday, and the Board of Aldermen hired Michael Kelly as his replacement during a special meeting Monday.
Cooper said he was losing money by staying at the Police Department when his business, Cooper’s Towing and Recovery, is doing well and said he had concerns about the city not having enough money to adequately support the Police Department.
Kelly had been the city's code enforcement officer, and he was deputy director of the Columbia Law Enforcement Training Academy.
Cooper started as a patrol officer in 1994. He became the interim chief in June 2014 and the interim tag was removed in September 2014.
Aldermen accepted his resignation in a 4-0 vote and moved into closed session to discuss appointing an interim chief. They then voted 4-0 to hire Kelly as the permanent police chief.
For more details, see Thursday’s C-P.
