Metro Transit Police chief Michael Taborn to retire Metro's top management said it would conduct a nationwide search for a new chief. Taborn is expected to stay on to help oversee operations on Inauguration Day next month and then step down in the spring. Taborn's told Metro General Manager Richard Sarles a "couple of years ago that he wanted to retire," Sarles said in an interview. But Sarles said he told him, "I'd like [you] to stick around." On Thursday, Taborn told Metro's board in executive session of his retirement. Taborn's salary is $181,280 a year. During his tenure as police chief, Taborn oversaw the addition of 100 officers to the force and fostered more cooperation with other law enforcement agencies in combating car break-ins in Metro parking lots. Taborn put in place a computerized system to track crime reports throughout the system, made regular use of random bag checks and helped set up an anti-terrorism unit. Still, crime in the Metro system ebbs and flows. Aggravated assaults, burglaries and robberies are up by roughly 7 percent as of October - the most recent month for which statistics are available - compared with the prior year, according to Metro statistics. That's due to increases in thefts of electronic devices. But crime at parking facilities is down 26 percent compared with the same period in 2011. "Taborn is highly respected by federal and jurisdictional counterparts," Sarles said. He credited Taborn with serving as chief safety officer after the deadly Red Line crash in 2009, saying, "He showed he could handle it, and he did until a new chief safety officer could be put in place. He's a person of high, personal integrity. Taborn has a long history with Metro, having worked under every general manager, he said, including the first, Jackson Graham. He started as a Transit Police officer, rose through the ranks to become a captain and served for 10 years as the training division commander. He retired in 2002 from Metro and went to the Federal Transit Administration. At FTA, he served as the director of the Office of Transit Safety and Security before returning to Metro in 2008 as chief. Taborn said that he planned to stay in the chief's job for five years and that he has plans to consult in the field of transit police work and security. "It is time to turn another page in my life and slow down a little bit," he said in an interview. And not be wedded to a Blackberry 24/7. Taborn also received criticism during his tenure. Some riders and bus operators think he has not put enough transit officers on trains and buses. Metro bus operators have had more incidents recently of being spit on and cursed at, and having bricks and rocks being thrown at their vehicles along routes in Southeast. Although Taborn's department has organized events where uniformed and plainclothes officers rode buses, many riders and bus operators said there were not enough officers visible to deter incidents. Riders have also voiced frustration at vehicle break-ins in parking lots and snatches of iPhones and iPads on trains. Taborn's officers also have had concerns. In 2011, Taborn received a vote of "no confidence" from the union that represents Metro's transit officers. It said Taborn had not responded to its collective-bargaining agreement and not fixed a faulty police radio system. Metro said it has since put in new equipment that should alleviate the problems of radios not working in some tunnels and certain parts of the system. Taborn defended himself Wednesday, saying the union didn't "offer up anything" of what its complaints were. "I haven't heard anything of what their issues were," he said. It was publicized but not identified as to the causes of their concerns. He said he has an open door policy and meets with his direct reports daily, and rank and file and detectives two to three times a year. In a recent survey conducted by the Internal Association of Chiefs of Police, officers under Taborn have blamed him for running a department that they say was too top heavy with senior management positions and not prepared enough for possible terrorist attacks.