State police chief Doherty to resign April 1

SCITUATE – Brendan P. Doherty, superintendent of the R.I. State Police, is resigning effective April 1, a state police spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
Doherty informed Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee of his decision at a noon meeting on Thursday, according Lt. Col. Raymond S. White, the department’s deputy superintendent.
Chafee’s office did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the resignation and whether it was accepted by the governor.
The resignation follows a disagreement that became public last week between Doherty and Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Pare over the city’s desire not to participate in a federal program designed to determine if criminal suspects are in the country illegally.
It was unclear on Thursday whether the dispute played a role in Doherty’s decision to resign.
Doherty was sworn in as the 11th superintendent of the R.I. State Police in 2007.
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin in a statement said Doherty “is one our finest law enforcement officials. … His resignation is a terrible loss for the law-enforcement community and for the state.”