Art Acevedo has withdrawn his acceptance of a $271,000-a-year administrative job offer to oversee policing in Austin.

Acevedo announced he was withdrawing in a statement posted to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Acevedo, who has served as either a police chief or interim police chief in Austin; Houston; Miami; and Aurora, Colo.; was set to take a newly created role as interim assistant city manager overseeing police. He would have have joined four other assistant city managers, and Acevedo’s role was intended to serve as a liaison between the City Manager’s office and the police department.

Acevedo announced early last week he was leaving the Aurora, Colorado, police department, where he served as interim police chief, to be with family in Texas. His last day with the Aurora Police Department is Monday.

“I was thrilled about the opportunity to work closely with the Chief, someone I have known for nearly 17 years and have always recognized her as the future of the department,” Acevedo said in the statement Tuesday on X. “I also jumped at the opportunity to work with Mayor Kirk Watson, a leader with a proven track record of getting real results for his constituents. Additionally, while I did not know many of the Mayor’s council colleagues, I looked forward to working together with them for the incredible people of Austin.

“While I continue to admire and support these leaders of the Austin community, it is clear that this newly created position has become a distraction from the critical work ahead for our city, the Austin Police Department, and the Austin Police Association,” the statement said.

The appointment, which was first reported by the Statesman on Friday, came as a surprise to many City Council members, many of whom said they did not support the decision. The City Council learned of the appointment on Friday.

More: Exclusive: Art Acevedo taking new $271,000 Austin City Hall position overseeing police

A major point of concern from many members of the City Council who disapproved of the appointment was Acevedo’s role in overseeing a police department that had a backlog of untested rape kits.

In addition to the criticism from members of the City Council, the announcement of Acevedo’s new position sparked backlash from community activists and other elected officials.

More: Mixed reactions to Art Acevedo’s new role as Austin’s assistant city manager. Here’s why

Travis County District Attorney José Garza on Saturday slammed the appointment, saying in a statement, “Art Acevedo’s return is a step backward for survivors of sexual assault. His appointment represents a stunning disregard for their pain and our community’s values.”

Both Austin and Travis County settled lawsuits brought by several women who said that police did not their complaints of sexual assault seriously and that the city lacked the resources to bring their attackers to justice. The first lawsuit in 2018 highlighted concerns that had previously been made about a backlog of DNA samples and about mold contaminating some of the samples.

The appointment comes days before the city is set to make a formal apology to the plaintiffs on Tuesday.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Art Acevedo withdraws from new Austin assistant city manager position