Salt Lake police chief resigns

Longtime Salt Lake City police chief Chris Burbank says he was forced to resign by the mayor for the way he handled a sexual harassment claim.

Burbank said he submitted his resignation Thursday after being told he would need to read a prewritten apology to avoid being fired. Burbank defended his handling of the claims. He says Salt Lake City mayor Ralph Becker decision is election-year politics.

Burbank held the top post with the agency for nine years.

Becker said at his own news conference that Burbank disobeyed his orders about how to deal with allegations of harassment from three female officers.

The women have said they plan to sue after a police official shared racy images of two of the female officers.

Deputy chief Mike Brown has been named interim chief.