The embattled police chief for the Oakland public schools has abruptly retired following news reports that he allegedly made a series of racial slurs against fellow officers. 

Peter Sarna II informed the district Wednesday morning of his decision, said district spokesman Troy Flint.

Sarna's resignation prompted officials to suspend an investigation that the district launched after receiving a complaint on Aug. 4 involving his alleged misconduct, Flint said. Joe O'Sullivan, a lawyer for an officer who filed the complaint, said his client was driving home last month from the Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland with Sarna and two other officers, one who was black, the other Asian, when Sarna began his alleged rant.

The district has not named a replacement for Sarna, who earned $121,000 a year.

Because there has been no formal conclusion to the district's investigation, Sarna will be entitled to his pension and a severance of at least $27,000, which is the equivalent of two month's pay and three weeks of vacation time that is owed to him, Flint said. 

"We did not force him to resign," Flint said. "It became obvious that regardless of the merit of the allegations, he just wasn't going to be able to function at his customary level. The issue of credibility is paramount. He recognized that his effectiveness was compromised." 

Sarna did not immediately return a call requesting comment left at his East Bay home.