Rick Esteves will retire as police chief of the Downey Police Department at the end of this year and his replacement is expected to be named tonight.

Esteves said he is retiring to travel and pursue other hobbies. He took the top police job in December 2009, replacing Roy Campos.

We'll have a full story on Esteves' retirement in this week's paper.

Meanwhile, the City Council is meeting in closed session tonight where they are expected to select a new police chief.