By: WCTV Eyewitness News

December 23, 2019

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) — Tallahassee Police Department Major Lonnie Scott, who was a candidate for the TPD Chief job, has submitted his resignation letter to the department.

Scott confirmed this over the phone to WCTV reporter Jacob Murphey.

Scott was the Major and Commander in the Administrative Services Bureau of TPD. He also previously served as member of the Gainesville Police Department in the capacities of Professional Standards and Support Services Bureau Commander and Emergency Manager for the City of Gainesville.

Scott says he made the decision to leave TPD after he wasn't selected to be the next Police Chief

. He was

, the other two being Antonio Gilliam of the St. Petersburg Police Department and TPD Major Lawrence Revell.

Scott's resignation is effective January 10. He starts his role as Assistant Chief of Police in the Gainesville Police Department on January 13. He worked there for 29 years before joining TPD.

This news comes just four days after Gilliam decided to back out of the

.

Scott says he accepted his new role at GPD the day before Gilliam announced he wasn't taking the TPD Chief job. He says although the TPD Chief job reopened, he couldn't back out of the GPD job, since people in Gainesville were already making plans for his arrival.

When asked about the future of TPD, Scott says the people in the department make it great, but the leadership needs to be fine-tuned.

“The people that make up TPD are the strength of the agency," he says. "The leadership is something that needs to be fine-tuned, and that’s something that city management is going to undertake, and I have every confidence that eventually they’ll get the agency that they want.”

Scott says his resignation adds to TPD's diversity problem, but he added that it has been a problem for a while. He said Gilliam's decision to turn down the TPD Chief job surprised him.

Finally, Scott says he isn't backing a specific candidate for the TPD Chief opening.

Now, the city has just

to choose from for its top cop gig.

These are the remaining candidates: