Virginia State Police superintendent to retire

(WWBT) - Virginia State Police Superintendent Col. Steve Flaherty is retiring.

Flaherty is a 42-veteran with the state police and served as superintendent for more than 14 years. He says it has been the "greatest honor" of his life.

"As with anyone who has experienced success in their life, I owe debts of gratitude that I can never sufficiently repay to countless people. I have been blessed to work with the most professional and dedicated population of employees any organization has ever mustered together. Thus, I can only express my most sincere gratitude to our State Police sworn and civilian personnel and to the citizens of this Great Commonwealth for your support and service during my tenure with the Department and as your Superintendent," said Flaherty in a statement.

Governor-Elect Ralph Northam announced the retirement Tuesday afternoon and selected Lt. Col. Gary Settle to take over as the new superintendent.

"I am most humbled by this appointment to State Police Superintendent and by Governor-Elect Northam's confidence in me to fulfill such a significant responsibility and position of leadership," said Settle in a statement.

It still unknown when Flaherty's retirement will take effect.

Read both statements in full here.

Copyright 2017 WWBT NBC12. All rights reserved.

Report an Error or Submit a Tip to NBC12