San Pablo’s police chief has announced that he is retiring at the end of this year.

Police Chief Ron Raman, who has led the department since 2017, will retire effective Dec. 30 and City Manager Matt Rodriguez has appointed Capt. Brian Bubar to take over as interim chief upon Raman’s departure.

“I know that our city and Police Department will be in good hands during this transition,” Raman said in a statement Wednesday about his retirement. “Thank you to the community and the city for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead this amazing Police Department that will continue to be a model for others in law enforcement.”

Rodriguez said Raman “has exemplified tremendous leadership during an unprecedented period of growth and innovation in our Police Department.”

Bubar, who has been with the department for 21 years and is taking over as interim chief, has served in several command positions since 2016. City officials said there will be a recruitment for a permanent chief later this year.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.