Denver Sheriff Patrick Firman is resigning after a turbulent four years at the helm of the city’s jails.

He’s expected to step down on Oct. 14, city officials announced Wednesday night.

The department’s professional standards director, Fran Gomez, will then take over as interim sheriff.

Firman had been contemplating the move for a few months and told Mayor Michael Hancock last week that he decided to resign, said Troy Riggs, executive director of the Denver Department of Public Safety.

The sheriff wasn’t asked to resign, Riggs said at a Thursday news conference.

A city news release issued at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday credited Firman with a slew of reforms, including improvements in employee training, better policies and procedures for use-of-force and a new citizen advisory board.

In a statement, Hancock called Firman “a loyal and dedicated public servant” who has “weathered criticism, fair and unfair, over his tenure at the department.”

But Firman’s abrupt departure after four rocky years raises questions about whether the sheriff has the confidence of his employees.

Mike Britton, a leader of a local sheriff’s deputies union, said many of Firman’s employees see their boss as incompetent.

“The department’s no better off now than it was prior to his reforms,” said Britton, vice president of the Denver Sheriff Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #27, which has about 700 members.

Britton, vocal critic of the department, cited more than a hundred vacant positions and a top-down management structure that gives the agency’s employees little decision-making authority.

“I’d say everyone kind of figured it out after the first year that (Firman was) in over his head,” Britton said. “I think the mayor finally decided enough was enough.”

Firman wasn’t at the Thursday press conference because he was taking a day off, Riggs said.

Hancock, too, was out of town and absent, his staff said.

The mayor appointed Firman, a longtime Illinois corrections chief, in 2015, hoping he could reform an embattled department that cost the city millions in payouts for misconduct cases.

The sheriff said in a Wednesday night statement that he was asked to act on more than “400 reform recommendations that touched nearly every aspect of the Denver Sheriff Department” when he took the position.

“With the help of our partners and the tireless efforts of staff, we were successful in implementing those changes,” Firman said in the Wednesday night news release.

But the department’s legal troubles have continued.

The agency came under fire in recent weeks after a woman who gave birth in a jail cell last year sued the city. Diana Sanchez called for help, but jail staff ignored her pleas for about five hours of labor, the lawsuit alleges.

On Monday, the Denver City Council approved a $1.55 million settlement to a group of female deputies who alleged that they faced unequal treatment and a hostile work environment while employed at the jail.

“It’s concerning that it took all of these allegations by women – those who work in the jail and inmates – about the mistreatment they were subjected to. Yet, the all-male decision-makers took no action for years” said Lisa Calderón, chief of staff for Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca and frequent critic of Denver’s law enforcement.

“The fact that the optics are bad seems to be the motivating factor” for Firman’s departure, Calderón said.

Calderón sued the mayor, the sheriff and other city officials last year, claiming that her contract running a city program was cut short because Denver leaders were retaliating against her for speaking out about discrimination at the Sheriff’s Department.

Firman has faced scrutiny for administrative shortfalls, too.

His employees have racked up millions of dollars in overtime costs.

Departmental delays in bond processing have kept people waiting in jail for days after they should have been released.

A March report by the Denver Auditor’s Office found that a “fragmented” jail management system gave rise to flaws that “could adversely impact the safety of jail staff, inmates, and the public.”

Firman is paid nearly $195,000 to lead the department of roughly 1,100 employees. He’s responsible for overseeing the agency’s two jails and the 2,100 or so inmates inside those facilities at any given time.

Denver is one of two jurisdictions in the state in which the sheriff is not elected.

But Councilwoman Cdebaca wishes to change that, Calderón said.

CdeBaca plans to introduce a measure to her fellow councilors “in the coming weeks” that would put a question on the 2020 ballot to amend the city charter so that Denver’s sheriff is chosen by a vote of the public, Calderón said.

City officials say the Sheriff’s Department still has gains to make.

Denver Independent Monitor Nick Mitchell praised Firman for his service but added that “much more work needs to be done to ensure that our jails meet the community’s expectations.”

The deputies working in Denver’s jails face tremendous challenges on a daily basis, including managing inmates with mental illness, said Riggs, the public safety department executive director.

“The first thing we have to address is morale. It’s a very difficult place to work,” Riggs said. “We have to do better at providing services for our deputies.”

The city will soon begin gathering input from citizens for its search for a long-term replacement, he said.

“We’re going to be asking the community for their input,” Riggs said. “What would they like to see in the next sheriff? What type of issues do they think we need to address?”