Senoia's police

chief, Ben Thomas, sent shockwaves through the town Tuesday when he resigned

from the force.

The resignation

is effective Dec. 31 and City Administrator Leonard Thompson said Thomas

wants to pursue other options.

"He wasn't

fired. He just wants to do something else," he said.

Thomas has

been police chief for four years, which has been the longest tenure for

a chief in Senoia in some time.

The chief originally

signed a five-year contract and Thompson said all the financial details

have not been worked out yet on how much the chief will be paid.

Thompson added

the chief has agreed to help with the transition over the next three months.

Thomas recently

moved his office from City Hall back to the Police Department after Thompson

assumed the job of city administrator. The department also was the subject

of an investigative report earlier this year by The Citizen questioning

the number of tickets written in the small town.

Mayor Joan

Trammell and Thomas could not be reached for comment.