Ruben Santiago to serve as interim chief

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO/AP) — City of Columbia officials have announced that Deputy Chief Ruben Santiago will serve as interim police chief, following what outgoing Chief Randy Scott hopes is his temporary retirement. Interim Chief Santiago will fill in for Chief Scott, who said in a letter released Saturday that he would retire from the police department effective Jan. 1, then reapply for the job. Scott has been chief since 2010. He says the decision was based on changes to the South Carolina Police Retirement System that limit financial earnings for all retirees, starting with the new year. Earlier this year, Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins retired and was reinstated. Under legislative rules, Scott must take a minimum 15-day leave of absence before seeking to get his job back.