A veteran Miami Beach Police major will retire early Aug. 1.

More leadership changes are coming to the Miami Beach Police Department after 27-year veteran Maj. Angel Vazquez announced his early retirement.

In a department-wide email, Vazquez announced he’ll leave the department as of Aug. 1.

“I have loved serving this community for almost three decades. However, the time is right for me and my family to start a new chapter in our lives and for me to pass the torch to the next generation of leaders,” Vazquez wrote in an email on Monday, July 14.

The major once lodged an ethics commission complaint against a sitting commissioner. At a public meeting, the commissioner, Ed Tobin, publicly discussed an ongoing police department investigation involving Vazquez.

Vazquez was reprimanded in the case, in which a fellow officer claimed Vazquez tried to influence a drunk driving case against Vazquez’s former brother-in-law.

The ethics complaint against Tobin — that he improperly influenced the hirings and firings of a police chief, city manager and two police recruits — was eventually dismissed.

In a text message, Vazquez said he plans to “try my hand in the private sector and spend more time with my wife and kids.

“I have missed a lot of time with them because of my job but I will certainly miss the folks at MBPD,” he wrote.

Vazquez was already in a deferred retirement program, meaning he agreed to retire at a future date. Vazquez said he could have worked for another two years.

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This story was originally published July 17, 2014 at 4:10 PM with the headline "A veteran Miami Beach Police major will retire early Aug. 1.."