Dan Trelka will remain as Waterloo police chief despite reports he told officers that he had been asked to step down from the position.

But Chief Trelka will relinquish his supervision of the fire department, Mayor Quentin Hart announced in a news conference at city hall Monday afternoon.

Mayor Hart told reporters he wants Chief Trelka to focus on putting together a policing plan over the next year that builds public trust. He said he believes Chief Trelka can address challenges facing the city, which include lawsuits for alleged use of excessive force by police officers.

In January, the city reached a $2.5 million settlement with the family of Derrick Ambrose, Junior. A police officer shot and killed the 22-year-old after a foot chase in 2012.

In another case, an officer is accused of slamming a 17-year-old boy face-first onto a sidewalk outside a hospital. An open records request shows the city paid a teenager to keep him quiet about a settlement. The same officer is accused of pointing a stun-gun at a crowd. He then used it to allegedly shock a 31-year-old man who was helping with crowd control.

Earlier this month, the Des Moines Register published an editorial that criticized the Waterloo Police Department. The editorial board called on the U.S. Department of Justice to step in to restore trust between police and people and review the department's operations.

Last Friday, two police officers told KCRG-TV9 that Trelka said he had been asked to step down. The officers could not provide further comment.

Chief Trelka was appointed to the position as police chief in 2010. He later was appointed the director of public safety.

He previously was a member of the Sturgeon Bay (Wis.) Police Department from 1992-2010.