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Berkeley police Chief Michael Meehan announced his resignation today and will be leaving his post next month, according to city officials.

Meehan's resignation was accepted by City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley, who sent out an announcement to city staff this morning.

Capt. Andrew Greenwood will take over as acting chief after Meehan departs on Oct. 14.

No reason for the resignation was given and Meehan said only that he decided "the time is now" after talking to his family, according to a letter he sent out via Twitter.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates suggested that, while Meehan made some admirable changes to the department, it was his inability to get along well with rank-and-file officers that led to his departure. 

"I think there were signs and indications that he was having trouble leading the force," Bates said. "There's been some strong signs that the Police Department actually lost confidence in his ability to lead, which I think was the main thing." 

Bates praised Meehan for implementing efforts to reduce bias in police work and to train officers to better identify and help people with mental illness. 

He also said Greenwood is the "ideal person to step in."  

The sudden news of Meehan's departure today drew a positive reaction from the department's rank-and-file leadership. 

"I can't say it was necessarily expected," said Berkeley Police Association president Sgt. Chris Stines. "We wish him the very best with his future endeavors and we're very much looking forward to some positive changes happening in the department. We have a lot of faith in the city manager and city leadership." 

The department will continue to build on "some of the good work he started," Stines said. 

Not all of Meehan's tenure was free of scandal, however. 

In 2012, he was roundly criticized for sending an officer to an Oakland Tribune reporter's home in the middle of the night to try to have a story corrected and for sending several officers in search of his son's missing cellphone. 

In his letter to city staff, Williams-Ridley expressed gratitude for Meehan's service and said that during his nearly seven-year tenure as chief, the department has "increased transparency by posting 30 years of crime data as well as department policies, arrests, bookings, calls for service, pedestrian and traffic stops on the city's website." 

Greenwood is a 31-year veteran of the Berkeley Police Department and is a lifelong resident of the city, the letter states.