Medicine Hat police chief resigns

Medicine Hat Police Chief Mike Wordenis resigning after a year and a half in the position.

Worden has notified the city'spolice commission of his intention, commission chair Ted Rodych said Monday in a statementto CBC News.

A spokesperson for the Medicine Hat mayor's office confirmed Worden's resignation.

In a statement on Facebook, Worden said he was resigning due to personal and family reasons.

"After great consideration, I have made the difficult decision to retire as Chief of Police of the Medicine Hat Police Service," reads the statement.

"It was a great honour to lead this organization for the last 1.5 years and I am confident the Medicine Hat Police Commission will choose an effective leader to help guide the Service into the future."

The commission said it respected Worden's decision to step down and would immediately start a search for his replacement.