A longtime leader of law enforcement in Mobile announced his resignation as the city’s executive director of public safety in favor of taking a director’s job at a center focused on helping troubled youth.

Lawrence Battiste, 59, who has been executive director of public safety since April 2021, said he is resigning to take a job that represents an “opportunity to do something I’m passionate about.”

“I think (Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s) vision of ‘One Mobile’ and the things we’ve done in the city over the past eight yeas I’ve been here has helped move the city forward,” Battiste said, referring to a tenure that began in 2015 as assistant police chief and 2017 as the city’s police chief.

He said his new position as deputy administrator at Strickland Youth Center represented an “opportunity to bridge that gap by working with our young people.”

Battiste’s resignation is effective June 9. He will begin his new role at Strickland on June 12.

Battiste last worked at Strickland in 2015, before coming over to the city. He was the agency’s chief juvenile probation officer with the youth court.

“It’s been an interesting journey for me,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot over the past two years about what different departments need. When you are the (police) chief, you have a narrower view. As the public safety director, you sit at a higher perch. I’ve tried to make sure I’ve been fair to people and decisions that I made impacted people in a way that was positive for them to grow.”

Battiste, who earned an annual salary roughly of $149,000, said he will be taking a pay cut to return to Strickland in the deputy administrator’s role.

“The things I’ve done over the course of my career, I have taken pay cuts before,” he said. “It’s not about the money. I’ve been blessed. My wife and child and the things that have come my way, and the opportunities for me … have been great. If money drove me, I would’ve left the position a long time ago. There were trying times. but the good times outweighed the bad.

Battiste, in his public safety roles, has been among the most high profile public officials in Mobile especially as the city has combatted an uptick in violent crime since the pandemic.

As police chief, Battiste played an instrumental role in calming the protests that broke out in downtown Mobile following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis nearly three years ago. Mobile, unlike Birmingham and Huntsville, was not affected with any significant issues with rioting.

Battiste’s administrative role within public safety hasn’t always been smooth. As police chief, he butted heads with the operators of tow companies over accusations that Mobile police were targeting certain operators amid an investigation into predatory towing.

As public safety director, his role included providing administrative oversight of both the police and fire departments. The position was formerly occupied by James Barber, the current chief of staff to Stimpson. Before Barber, Richard Landolt held the position.

Before Landolt, the job sat vacant for about nine years.

Barber said there is not an urgency to replace Battiste, noting that the administration just recently found out about his resignation.

“We will have that conversation going forward on what should happen,” Barber said. “It’s not just one of those positions you just want to run out and fill. You want to make sure you fill it with the proper person.”

Barber said he is also familiar with the needs of the job, having served in the role as recent as 2021.

“There is not an immediate need for that skill set,” he said.

Council members said they were surprised to find out about the resignation during Tuesday’s meeting.

“It was surprising,” said Councilman Ben Reynolds. “The city suffers some loss from that. He’s been a great steward of public safety for quite some time as a police officer, chief and public safety director. He’s done a pretty good job over the years, best that I can tell.”

Stimpson, Battiste’s boss, said he was “disappointed” in the decision to leave the city.

But, the mayor added, “He’s maybe called to do something different.”