Howard County Chief of Police Gregory Der is planning to retire from the department on June 1 in the wake of two fatal police-involved incidents.

Der, who in 2022 became the first person of Asian descent to lead the county’s police force, is preparing a move to Florida to be closer to his new grandchild, County Executive Calvin Ball said in a statement Wednesday.

News of his departure comes a day after a county councilwoman called for his resignation. The Police Department has faced criticism in recent months for the fatal shooting of an autistic man, Alex LaMorie, and a fatal police-involved crash involving an unnamed juvenile driver.

Ball said Der notified him several weeks ago of his intention to retire and thanked the chief for his years of service.

“I have known Chief Der for roughly 20 years, and he has always stood out as a thoughtful, determined, and effective leader,“ Ball said in the statement. ”This has remained the same during his tenure as Police Chief during the last four and a half years.”

County officials have not yet named Der’s replacement but said they are preparing plans for the transition.

Der, who grew up in Howard County, began his law enforcement career in 1997 as a patrol officer and narcotics detective with the Easton Police Department in Talbot County. He joined Howard’s department in 1999 and served as a school resource officer, hostage negotiator, property crimes detective, and fire and explosives investigator before retiring in 2017.

He went on to serve as chief deputy in the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s office, overseeing sworn and civilian staff at six regional offices throughout the state, before Ball appointed him to lead Howard’s department.

During Der’s tenure, the department expanded operations to include satellite locations at Green Valley Marketplace in Elkridge and inside the Mall in Columbia.

Advocates last year called out the police department and its accountability board for not effectively addressing apparent racial disparities in county law enforcement.

Howard County Councilwoman Liz Walsh echoed those concerns Tuesday in a letter addressed to Ball. She called for Der’s removal, citing the recent turnover of eight of the department’s 12 majors and captains as well as two officer-involved deaths in less than three months.

State investigators in February released video footage from the Jan. 17 fatal crash in which an unmarked Police Department vehicle attempted to pull over a teen driver in a Honda Accord. The Honda did not stop, crashed in a wooded area and quickly caught fire.

Earlier this week, state authorities released video footage from the fatal shooting of LaMorie outside of his Patuxent Commons, a complex dedicated to supporting adults with autism and other disabilities, shortly after midnight on March 1. LaMorie had called 911 to report that he’d been a victim of an extortion scam. Three police officers fired at LaMorie when he approached them with a knife in his hand and did not follow instructions to drop it.

LaMorie’s family has called his death senseless and callous.

“My heart breaks to know that my son was in stated pain and suicidal crisis,” said Jill Harrington, LaMorie’s mother, in a statement this week. “It is also disturbing to know that in his cry for help, during his darkest hour, the onus to save himself seems to have been placed on him when he was at his most wounded.”

In the weeks following LaMorie’s death, the county has purchased 200 Tasers for police officers to have as an alternative device in “dangerous and unpredictable circumstances.”

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division is investigating both incidents.

Baltimore Banner reporter Jess Nocera contributed to this article.